


Journey To Heaven's Gate

by Lavender_chan



Series: Slavetale [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reader Is Not Frisk, Soul Sharing, chara is gendernuetral, emotional breakdowns, frisk is gendernuetral, more tags will be added, please help me find more tags haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2018-07-26 15:05:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7578742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavender_chan/pseuds/Lavender_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the events of Hell is a Place on the Surface.</p><p>In the aftermath of the fiasco at the penthouse of one Victor Masters, the Surface is in greater turmoil then before. Monsters—collared or not—are treated with suspicion and many are being sold to government funded ‘shelters’ where the monsters are never heard from again…</p><p>You have been busy handling the fallout in your own way. The matters of the surface hardly make it all the way to Snowdin, where you, Sans, Frisk, Papyrus and the mysterious Lyris currently reside. You have your hands full managing this house so things don’t collapse in on themselves.</p><p>Soon, something will surface that will force you to face the horrors of the Surface once again, but all you want is to find peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Heyya~
> 
> HERE IT IS~
> 
> Everyone's been waiting so patiently, and here it is, the sequel to Hell is a Place on the Surface! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I've been enjoying writing it~ I won't hold you lovelies up, Go Read~

A dark place; he woke up in a dark place.

He could remember _coming_ from a dark place…was he still there? No, this was a different kind of darkness. He could see the stars overhead, hung in place like jewels against the heavens; counting them would take ages, but didn’t he have ages to waste?

Not anymore. He was free. Free from the emptiness, free from the darkness, free from…

No, not free. He could feel it. He could _feel it_. There, in his chest, like someone had cut him open and filled his chest with lead, and sewn him back up—it was heavy and it hurt and the voice just _wouldn’t shut up_ …

Over and over, it chanted its mantra, demanding and pleading, and it wouldn’t shut up. It wouldn’t shut up, just be quiet and let him think, just _stop talking and **shut up, he just needed to think; just Shut Up, just SHUT UP-**_

A soft sound next to him broke his thoughts and quieted the voice inside. His eyes beheld her and her soft brown hair, but she still lay sleeping. That was right, she needed help; he had to help her-

But was that right? Wasn’t he here for something else…? Something…bloody…something so much like…

…

_Revenge._


	2. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> I'm posting two chapters tonight~ Sort of a 'Yay, release of a new fanfic~" type celebration :D
> 
> Enjoy~

Darkness surrounded you as you let yourself walk, step by slow step, through the familiar paths of New Home. You’d never been here after everyone else went to sleep, but you found that it wasn’t hard to navigate; soon, you were walking through the golden pillars of the Judgement Hall and past into the stairwell that would lead you up to the throne room…

Except, you weren’t trying to get to the throne room.

Your bare feet carried you past the archway that would lead you to the throne room, and toward the other end of the hall; toward the darkened staircase beyond.

There, the darkness seemed to finally come alive, actively block your vision and despite knowing that there was no danger, you hesitated. You weren’t allowed down there; no one had actually said it to you, but you had seen the way everyone had actively ignore this staircase; no one turned to look at it, no one even acknowledged its existence. Instead, it almost felt like this staircase was the worst kept secret, or even a taboo…

You heard a giggle, echoing down from the bottom of the stairs and your body lurched forward. Taking the steps one at a time, you followed the childish laughter. The stone of the steps chilled your feet and made you wish for socks, but the thought was quickly chased away when you saw the bottom of the steps and the doorway to the left.

Walking became a chore; like you were having to press forward through some sort of slime…but you pressed forward anyway. Something was here; something you _had_ to see, had to know-

You turned to look into the doorway and a child with a green and yellow sweater stared you down.

~*~

You started awake from your place on the floor and stared wide eyed at the ceiling above you. It was still nighttime, that you knew, but you were wide awake thanks to the dream you had.

Not that you could remember any of it.

You could remember the feeling of cold stone against your feet, the sound of a child laughing, and…darkness. The kind of darkness you only associated with one place: the staircase near the throne room.

A quiet sigh left your mouth and you sat up slowly, glancing around at the room you were in. With so many people in the house, it was no surprise a few people would end up on makeshift cots on the floor. You still insisted that Sans keep his bed, but now Frisk was on the couch and you were on the floor in front of it. You had made a cot for Lyris inside of Papyrus’s room, but found out that Lyris spend many nights in Papyrus’s bed to drive away the night terrors that would hound his sleeping hours.

You had decided to keep that small piece of information from Sans, since the smaller skeleton was not as fond of Lyris as you and Frisk were.

You know sleep wouldn’t find you again tonight—the clock over the TV said it was 4:30 anyway—so you sat up and moved silently to the kitchen where you pulled out a few things to make tea and started the silent routine. Your mind buzzed as you worked.

It had been a grand total of 3 weeks since you and Papyrus had been rescued from the penthouse, and since Masters had…

You swallowed and pushed past that thought.

The monsters had called it a decisive victory, until stories started to filter in from the Surface. Humans, afraid of revolt, had started taking collars off of their monsters, or selling them to government facilities where they disappeared without a trace. The blow had taken a lot of morale out of the monsters here in the Underground, and even with the appearance of more who had escaped, many monsters had started speaking of staying in the Underground and creating a new barrier; one that kept humans out, rather than monsters in.

It left a pit in your stomach, just thinking about it.

You let out a quiet sigh—everything you did in the kitchen at this hour was quiet; Frisk was a light sleeper, you had found out—before you turned off the stove and poured the hot water into your mug.

You took a seat at the kitchen table, pulling a leg up to your chest while you let your tea steep, and your mind was back to its dark thoughts.

The Agents—the organization that was now working with the Resistance and was a much more active group than the Resistance ever was—kept bringing in more news and Monsters; even new humans would appear, when there was a need for expansion in the Underground. Even the population had started to move back to their homes from New Home and Snowdin had started to fill in slowly.

The Store was running again, although its merchandise was limited, because other than the skeleton brothers, Lyris, you and Frisk, there were only two other families that had shown up, not including the strange wolf that threw ice into the river, not far behind the house.

“Why does he do that?” You remembered asking Sans.

“dunno, guess he’s de- _icing_ snowdin,” Sans had replied, with his usual chuckle and wink.

Speaking of Sans…

You glanced up, since his bedroom was somewhere above your head. Sans had been in a mood since everyone had come back to the house those three weeks ago. He had begrudgingly let Lyris move in as well—seeing as Papyrus wouldn’t let go of her and barely could hold a conversation without Lyris standing near him and encouraging his interactions.

It was a wonder to you that the younger brother could do any of that; you had heard a few scattered things from Lyris as to what Papyrus had to go through and to you it was a miracle that he didn’t hide away in his room for the rest of his life.

“I think he would have tried,” Lyris had answered when you had said as much to her, “But that first night, when we were staying with the Agents…Calin came to talk to the both of us and I think that brought a lot of comfort to Papyrus.”

“What did he say?” You blinked, asking curiously.

“I…I feel that it was a private matter that Calin revealed to us, so I….” Lyris had fidgeted nervously before you spoke up.

“No, no, I understand; you don’t have to tell me if it was said in confidence,” You assured her.

Lyris really only could talk to you through a cracked door most days, but there were a few that she’d been able to leave Papyrus sleeping on his bed and come down to talk to you and Frisk. Frisk enjoyed teaching the cycloptic monster sign language, and Lyris enjoyed helping you cook, when she could.

You rested your head onto your knee, your head turned so you could look out at the living room where you could see the lump on the couch that was Frisk. The child had all but chosen to ignore what was going on with the Surface and the other adults in their life. All that they chose to focus on was this house, though every now and again, you noticed Frisk slipping off toward the Ruins and you had to force yourself to let them go.

Why, you had no notion, but if Frisk had survived by themselves down here for so long, it should be fine, right…?

You hated to admit that the other reason you were letting them go was because you were too terrified to follow; the idea of running into that flower again—Flowey, or whatever—left you trembling and weak kneed. Still, there was a larger part of you that wanted to believe Frisk when they tried to tell you that Flowey wasn’t bad, just misunderstood and lonely.

Not that it changed the way you felt about the flower. The scars on your back were still there, and despite Sans’s apologies, you knew that you’d probably have them for the rest of your life.

“heya, couldn’t sleep?”

You jumped a little; even though you had been staring out at the living room, you hadn’t even noticed Sans walk into the kitchen.

“Ah…s-sorry,” You blinked before glancing down at your tea; it had been boiling when you first sat down, but now there wasn’t even steam coming from it. You gently poked the liquid to find it was still warm, but you felt a little embarrassed that you had zoned out for so long.

“what’s troublin’ ya?” Sans sat next to you, obviously wanting to ignore his own issues with sleep.

Your eyes traced the outline of the bags under his eyes slowly before you answered, “I just had a strange dream; I can’t remember it, but it felt…I dunno, spooky.”

Sans chuckled quietly, but it sounded off—almost hollow, “yeah, wish i could forget my own dreams…any chance there’s more where that came from?”

He indicated your mug and you pushed it toward him, your stomach feeling suddenly unsure and queasy, “Have this one; I’ll make myself another when I feel up to it.”

Sans hesitated, but he caught the look that was crossing your face; you weren’t feeling too hot.

“you should take a break, sweetheart,” Sans slowly brought the tea to his lips, but his eyes watched you carefully, “you’ve been takin care of everyone else and been ignorin yourself pretty well.”

You pressed your lips together, but you were too tired to really argue with him; he was right, after all. You had been trying to make sure everyone else was ok, hoping you could ignore your own thoughts and feelings about what happened, but all it had done was made you feel exhausted and more emotional than ever.

You had even cried over laundry the other day, of all things.

You sighed, closing your eyes, “I know, I just…I don’t want to think about it; I don’t wanna be told that how I’m feeling is dumb or wrong, but I feel like it is…I just…I dunno, Sans, I just…”

Sans watched you quietly before reaching over and touching your shoulder. His bones were hard through your shirt and brought some comfort as you felt them move in a slow circle; Sans hummed quietly before he spoke.

“wanna come back up to my room and see if you can’t find more sleep on an actual bed?”

You felt your cheeks warm up as you met his gaze, “I’m not kicking you out of your bed.”

“so you’ve said,” He chuckled, “i’m not askin you to; there’s enough room for two.”

More blood rushed to your face and you sputtered quietly, “Sans, I dunno, is that appropriate? I mean, I know we’re both adults, but I don’t want anything moving too fast, and both of us in a bed alone in a room, I dunno, it would be nice I guess, but-“

You took a small breath when you saw the way his grin widened while he watched you start to ramble.

“Stop making fun of me,” You whined quietly, “I can hear your judgement from here…”

“i’m not making fun,” Sans chuckled quietly, “nothing has to happen, just sleep; promise, skeleton’s honor.”

A small laugh left your mouth before you nodded slowly, “Alright, alright, fine…you win tonight, but just cause I’m exhausted…”

Sans had offered to share a bed with you before, of course; it was something he brought up at least once a week when you’d stretch in the mornings or when you would yawn throughout the day. You always blushed and sputtered, and you always rambled nonsense at him for a few minutes before he’d back down; you’d always hear about it for a few days after, just harmless teasing from him and girlish giggles from Lyris, but Sans always had respected your boundaries and never pushed too far, so you had no reason not to trust him.

Sans finished the mug of tea and placed it in the sink for the next morning—or more accurately, for when you woke up in a few hours—and gently laced his fingers with yours before leading you quietly through the living room and up the stairs.

Sleeping next to Sans wasn’t a new experience, but you’d only done it once: the first night you stayed with the Agents. You’d stuck to his side, both to distract him from Lyris and to distract yourself from the darker thoughts that were trying to claim your mind. That were _still_ trying to claim your mind.

He was as warm now as he had been then; and despite being made of bone, you found it comfortable to rest your head on his ribcage and wrap your arm around him. His arm found its way around your back and though he seemed no closer to sleep than you were, it was nice-- _peaceful_ —to sleep in his arms. The darker thoughts and worries ebbed away in the thrum of his magic and the beat of his soul, and carried them away from your over-tired mind. The way his arm was around you felt secure and left you with a sense that you didn’t have to carry all the things you were trying to carry—at least, not alone.

That sense alone made it easier to relax in his hold.

“Sans…” You whispered quietly, finding yourself staring into the darkness of his room.

“hmm?” He didn’t sound remotely sleepy.

“If everyone _does_ decide to create a new barrier…what do you think will happen to the humans who are already living down here…?” You unconsciously gripped his shirt.

“i…uh…i’ll be honest, sweetheart; i dunno,” He answered, his voice whispered against your hair, “monsters aren’t cruel, but i dunno if they’d make everyone leave, or make everyone stay…”

You nodded slowly before forcing your eyes to close and pressing closer to Sans; thoughts still swirled in your head, but slowly, they sifted out and you were able to focus on the feeling of Sans’s magic, on the way his ribs felt against your cheek and the firm grip he had on you.

“Good night, Sans,” You yawned after what felt like an hour of swirling in your own thoughts.

“good night, sweetheart,” Sans answers quietly, his own voice heavy with the promise of sleep.


	3. The Ultimatum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> So, this chapter is a little filler, and a little plot and because of that its pretty long haha, I hope you lovelies don't mind <3

When you woke, it was to your cell phone ringing.

A groan left you and you reached over Sans to fumble for the device, mumbling curses with your eyes barely open. Sans chuckled under you and reached out to grab it before it fell to the floor.

“who’s callin you?” Sans yawned and you blinked when all that you could see was a pure black void, like his eyes. _Magic_ you thought before you answered him.

“hmm…” You checked the screen before groaning, resting your head back on his chest, “It’s Inker; there’s probably a new batch of monsters who need their collars removed.”

“its not urgent?” He looked confused, “i thought the agents have those disruptor boxes?”

You shrugged, before answering the phone, “What’s up, Inker?”

“Good, you’re up,” Inker grumbled, “See if you can get to the lab somewhat quickly today, yeah?”

You refrained from rolling your eyes, even if she couldn’t see you, “I’ll be there soon, Inker.”

The bat didn’t even say goodbye before hanging up the phone and leaving you to lay back across Sans’s chest.

“I’ll never get used to how that old bat acts around people…” You whined, ignoring Sans’s chuckle before you sat up and started to stretch out.

“she’s a pill,” Sans said easily, “has been since anyone has known her.”

You glanced at him before shrugging, “Either way, I have to get up and head over to Alphy’s lab.”

“want an escort?”

“Actually…Would you keep Frisk company today? They’ve wandered around a lot and I’m worried they’re getting lonely,” You didn’t want to say that you suspected Frisk was hanging out with Flowey—because you didn’t like the idea, but also because you knew Sans would flip out.

Sans blinked but nodded, “sure thing, sweetheart.”

~*~

You yawned while you walked through the door into Alphys’s lab; even though you slept in Sans’s bed, you’d only been able to sleep for an extra hour and a half before Inker had called you. If it weren’t for the fact that you had cleaning to do at home, you’d probably opt for a nap.

“You finally got here,” Inker’s voice nearly made you cringe, but you managed to keep a straight face when you looked up to meet Inker’s gaze.

The bat was standing on the railing that guarded the upper floor of the lab—which also, incidentally, was where Alphys slept when she finally got around to it. You made your way to the escalator and tried to hide another yawn as you reached the top.

Inker watched you carefully, but didn’t comment until you were close enough for her to jump onto your shoulder.

“The monsters that need their collars removed will be here in a few minutes,” Inker informed you and directed you to head back down to the bottom floor—you nearly knocked her off your shoulder for that, “Asgore is sending them down now.”

“Couldn’t you have waited to call me, then?” You found a chair to sit in and ignored Inker’s glare as you sat down.

“I’m sure the monsters would appreciate having those things off as soon as possible,” Inker grumbled, “They aren’t comfortable, little missy.”

You blinked before looking up at her, “You had one too, Inker?”

“Course I did,” Inker grumbled, “Every monster was forced to wear those horrible collars; save for the few who had the chance to run, but those were the lucky few who left the Underground after the rest of us.”

There was a moment that you tried to picture Inker complying with someone’s orders and shook your head, “That…it must have been horrible…”

“It was,” Inker said easily, “It’s the worst feeling, being ordered to do something that absolutely disgusted you. That’s why I was determined to figure out a way to remove the collar from around my neck as fast as I could.”

“Then what happened? Where did you go?”

“I couldn’t go nowhere, at first,” Inker wrapped her wings around herself, “Everyone thought I was a huge pest or knew I was a monster, so I couldn’t stick around anywhere for long; that was until I found Asgore, at least.”

You nodded, turning to look at the ground; it was so easy to forget while you were here Underground, but monsters really did have a valid reason to hate humans. Here, every human was helpful, had thrown in their lot with monsters and were loyal, but so many more were on the Surface either doing nothing or actively trying to keep monsters in subjugation…

You pressed your lips together. Was it any surprise that Inker treated you the same way that she would have treated any human? With distrust and her own brand of hurt?

“You and Asgore have worked for so much since you’ve been free,” You said quietly.

“I suppose,” Inker replied, “We’ll work more before this is all over.”

Just then, the door to the lab slid open and a small group—only about 4—of monsters came in, each looking a mix of relief and uncertainty. There wasn’t anyone you recognized, or a type that you could recognize, but Inker seemed to know at least one.

“River Person,” Inker smiled, “How did you ever keep that damned cloak of yours?”

She was laughing gently, and the cloaked figure, River Person, laughed back, “Tra la la, it was easy.”

You glanced between Inker and the River Person before you started to move forward to remove the collars. Inker was content to move from your shoulder to continue talking with the monster, but you just wanted to be done for the day.

The first three monsters, though wary of you coming near them, allowed you to remove their collars after you explained the process. They each had an expression you were used to by now:

Bewilderment at the idea of you being able to dispel magic, which quickly turned to joy when they were free-- _finally_ free—from the collars around their necks. They left quickly, and you turned to the River Person.

“Are you ready for me to remove your collar?” You asked when you had a moment to cut into their conversation.

“Tra la la,” The River Person swayed side to side as they sang, “Do what you must.”

Inker continued the conversation as if you hadn’t interrupted, “Do you know where anyone else is?”

“Tra la la, from before Asgore’s coronation? I haven’t seen any,” was the answer.

Inker wrapped herself in her wings again, “I was hoping more of our old group would show back up, but so many are missing…”

“Tra la la, don’t be so down; there’s always time.”

“Psh, time is all we ever had,” Inker said almost bitterly.

You reached up and took a deep breath; with each collar, it got easier and easier to figure out how to remove the collars. Practice and perfection aside, you were smart enough not to let anyone else know that for most of the collars you had removed, there was a fear driving your ability of the monster turning to dust right before your eyes. Still, the collar came off without a hitch and Inker jumped up on the River Person’s shoulder.

“C’mon,” Inker motioned to the door, “You’re boat is parked in Waterfall.”

“Tra la la~ I was worried it would be washed away,” The River Person’s sing song voice carried the two of them out of the lab without a second glance at you and you were grateful.

There were moments you just wanted to be alone to breathe, and this was one of them. You felt out of sorts and exhausted, and a part of you knew it was because you still hadn’t talked about what had happened in that damned penthouse. Plus, with the dreams and that damned child—Chara, the name wouldn’t leave you alone now—you felt like you were slowly being broken down.

_Don’t leave yet…_

You hesitated; you had just been about to walk out of the lab and head back to Snowdin when you felt a pull. It wasn’t insistent, but it was there, like a hand gripping your shirt. You swallowed and glanced back. Half of you expected to see someone standing behind you, but you were alone—where were Alphys and Undyne?—and still, the pull was there.

You glanced at the door, before you stepped away from it and deeper into the lab. You weren’t sure what you were doing, or why, but your feet moved on their own, making you shudder when you came to a stop in front of the bathroom door, which was marked by a picture of a female dinosaur monster (you puzzled that it was something Alphys had made).

A giggle left your throat; you really were losing it. What could possibly be in the bathroom that ‘some force’ could be pulling you to? You felt foolish and just a little gullible. Had there even been a pull on your shirt, or was your exhaustion finally getting the better of you?

“Just go home,” You told yourself, letting your shoulders slump, “Get some sleep and try not to have any more strange dreams about creepy children.”

You turned and purposefully moved away from the bathroom and then out of the lab. If there had been a pull, it didn’t repeat itself, and you were able to head back through Hotland, heading toward Snowdin.

~*~

You came home to pure chaos.

As soon as you opened the door, you were met with a standoff. Sans stood near the kitchen, his eye blazing blue, and Frisk stood on the other end of the living room, and in his hands-

You felt the blood leave your face.

“that flower is nothin but trouble,” Sans somehow managed to sound the same, even with a raised voice.

“Flowey promised he’d be good! I can’t leave him alone in the ruins anymore, its not fair!” Frisk was carrying a flowerpot, and in the flowerpot was a bright yellow flower, whose face was contorted in a disinterested scowl.

You pressed your lips together and shut the door behind you, shutting it loud enough for all three of them to look in your direction with a snap of their heads.

Frisk’s bottom lip started to tremble and the one hand they were using to sign faltered and fell down to hold Flowey’s pot again.

Sans said your name quietly before glancing at Frisk and Flowey, “i couldn’t find frisk earlier, and when i showed up here they were both already in here.”

You shook your head, rubbing your face with one hand before you let it drop. Your thoughts were spinning out of control, starting with Frisk’s blatant disregard to your feels, and how they obviously had a lot of care for this psychopathic flower; just what was it between the two of them that Frisk deemed so important? How much harm was the child going to allow in order to force Flowey’s interaction on you and others?

“Frisk,” you started, but you were at a loss for words already.

“Please, Aunty, please! Flowey promised he’d be good,” Frisk signed quickly, “I can’t leave him alone! I promised I’d be back for him and I never could before now!”

“Frisk,” You said more sternly, “It doesn’t matter how many promises you’ve made, you can’t just go and force him on us like this!”

“See, I told you,” Flowey’s high pitched voice suddenly buzzed in, “They’re all just a bunch of _idiots_ , they’d never let me around them.”

You grit your teeth before snapping, “I would have been more willing before you _attacked_ me!”

Flowey froze before glaring at you, “Well, if you weren’t so weak-“

“watch your mouth,” Sans growled, his hands clenching into fists.

Frisk had been trying to break in to the argument with their signing, but with the quick turnaround of biting comments, their frustration took over and Frisk did something that shocked everyone in the room.

“EVERYONE STOPPIT!”

You froze, your eyes turning to look at Frisk, who had tears welling in their eyes. Their voice—which you hadn’t heard since they were a very young child—sounded feminine and delicate, neither of which you associated with your young charge.

Sans looked even more shocked than you, and even Flowey had an openly honest reaction to the sound.

“F….Frisk,” You realized you were clutching your shirt and tried to let it go, but your hand wouldn’t come unclasped.

“I-if F-Flowey i-isn’t w-w-welcome, th-then I-I w-w-won’t s-stay,” Despite how firm Frisk sounded, they’re words tripped over themselves and you almost couldn’t understand them through their skittering words. It was worse than Alphys.

“Frisk,” You swallowed, glancing toward Flowey before saying, “What are you saying? Are you really expecting that you can just leave? I’m responsible for you, you can’t just-“

“S-stop!” Frisk shook their head and looked exhausted, their eyes darting from you to Sans, and back to you, and their tears were starting to fall.

You felt at a complete loss; you couldn’t find the words to say, or even know how to feel about what was happening. Sans glanced at you, no doubt looking for guidance, but you had none to give. Frisk clutched the flowerpot tighter and took a step back. There wasn’t anywhere for them to run, but that didn’t seem to matter to them.

Frisk had run away once, and you were convinced they would do it again.

“F…fine,” You felt your hands drop to your sides, “We need to talk this out, Frisk; _without_ the threats, but Flowey can stay…”

Sans looked livid, but managed to keep an even tone when he added, “flowey doesn’t get another chance, frisk; if he attacks anyone else, that’s it.”

Frisk was still crying, but nodded quickly before they darted up the stairs toward the bathroom and slammed the door when they were safely inside. You felt your knees give way and you pressed your hands to your face.

“I can’t…gods, I can’t deal with this right now,” You moaned quietly, “If Frisk runs away again…Sans, we can’t let them run away again.”

Sans knelt by you and rubbed your shoulder slowly, “hey, its alright...c’mon, lets get you up to bed, you look exhausted.”

You almost pulled away, but the promise of a bed and just a minute to _think_ …

Sans lead the way and before you could comprehend that you were climbing the stairs, you were curling up against Sans’s side. And yet, sleep was still eluding you; Sans didn’t seem much better off as he slowly drew circles on your shoulder with his thumb.

“…has frisk always been able to speak?”

You probably should have expected that question, “Technically, yes…”

“you called them a mute,” He wasn’t exactly accusing, but you thought you heard it in his undertone.

“Frisk is a select mute,” You explained, closing your eyes, “From what my sister told me, about the same time Frisk chose to be considered neither male nor female, they just…stopped talking. No matter what happened, how they were punished, Frisk wouldn’t say a single word; my sister thought it had something to do with the fact that Frisk has always had a cute angelic voice…”

Sans silently contemplated what you said before adding, “the kiddo probably figured it would be hard to go without a gender if they sounded like a girl…”

You nodded, “That’s the idea, I suppose…I think…I think Frisk also had a lot of backlash at school; my sister said they had to switch schools for Frisk not long after they asked the teacher to use Frisk’s chosen pronouns—something about bullies, I’m sure…”

There was silence in the room and you could guess what Sans might have been thinking.

_Humans really are cruel, horrible creatures._

You winced, a headache growing suddenly behind your eyes. Had that been a real voice, or were you just falling asleep? You closed your eyes tighter and curled closer to Sans, but sleep didn’t find you for a long time after the two of you fell silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	4. The Fluff Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> Shortish chapter, but plot things are still happening! A little fluff to help you lovelies, though I think next chapter may be a little longer; we'll see~
> 
>  **Edit:** Just so everyone knows, I have a troll in the comments (you can see their handiwork in the comments of Short Leash, chapter 8), so I've turned on Comment Moderation, which means I'll have to approve your comments. Not a big deal, but I thought all my lovelies should be aware.

You were in that hallway again, staring down the stairs into that deep darkness again.

The dreams never even surprised you anymore, even though you never remembered them well when you woke; they were a video on loop, one where the ending was edited so you couldn’t ever reach it, and you were getting ever so tired of trying. Still, you felt your feet move and the cold stone of the stairs started to invade your skin again.

The darkness pressed in, but you found that even the small amount of fear you felt was nothing more than a shadow of the first time you had this dream, not long after returning to the Underground after being kidnapped by Masters.

Now there was a thought that gave you a chill.

Masters was 4 weeks dead, and yet you couldn’t let thoughts of him go. Everything about him terrified you and he was turning into your own personal boogie man. You shivered at the chill you felt and tried not to remember what it had been like, sitting in the dark with Mettaton—who died hours later—while you waited for either Papyrus to wake up, or Master to return for some horrible act he wanted to perform on you or one of the others.

You swallowed and sighed when you reached the bottom of the steps. Even this was a small blessing; the dream would soon be over and you’d wake up—you could busy yourself with hundreds of different things and just forget-

_You aren’t supposed to be taking this lightly!_

You blinked and turned to look into the doorway that was always blocked by Chara, and without fail, there they were. Their hands were on their hips and a scowl was on their face, but you simply blinked at them. While Chara had always made you uneasy—and you wouldn’t lie, they downright _scared_ you most of the time—but Chara also stirred up feelings of nostalgia and the feeling that you had forgotten something, something important.

“How am I supposed to take it?” You asked.

Chara didn’t answer the direct question and instead turned their back and began to walk away. You followed, though you only made it to the doorway before you saw what lay beyond. Your heart stopped, your mind froze, and all you could do was wake up.

~*~

You woke with a start, your eyes traveling quickly over the room before you relaxed back into the bed, rubbing your face as you laid on your back, trying to remember anything about the dream that woke you up.

Chara…you remembered that it was about—or perhaps because of?—Chara, and that you had seen…something…something that made you scared for Frisk’s well-being…

You tried not to groan, since you were sharing a bed, but a sigh left you anyway.

“nother nightmare?”

Sans’s voice was quiet in the dark and you had to squint when the lights in his eyes appeared, though they were dimmed. You had a mind to ask how much control he had over that, but you decided to answer his question first.

“I wish I could remember enough to say yes or no,” You crossed your arms and turned in bed so lay on your side, facing Sans.

“can’t remember a thing, huh?” Sans was already laying on his side and propped his head up on his hand, looking down at you, “must be _nightmare_ ish.”

You snorted and rolled your eyes, “Geez, Sans…really? This late?”

“betcha mean ‘this early’,” His eyes flickered to one side, perhaps contemplating whether he wanted to look at the clock or not.

A groan left you this time, “Don’t talk like that; it makes me feel like I won’t be able to get back to sleep.”

Sans chuckled at your words and a comfortable silence fell between the two of you. A thought occurred to you and you spoke quietly.

“How long have you been awake?”

Sans froze, his eyes locking with yours for a moment before he have a half-shrug, “dunno, a little bit, I guess.”

“Another nightmare?” You didn’t need him to speak to know the answer.

“yeah, guess so.”

You reached out and wrapped your arms around his shoulders gently before you pulled him toward you and into an embrace. He tensed a little, but as soon as you pressed a kiss against his temple, he relaxed into your hold.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“nah,” Sans answered quietly, his arms moving so he could lay comfortably against you; one of them wrapped around your waist loosely.

“Alright,” you nodded, kissing his cheekbone and nuzzling his jaw before you pulled back enough to look at him.

A dull blue blush was settled on his face, and a smile found its way onto your face as a result. You had started sharing a room with Sans about a week ago and he had followed your lead in terms of what the two of you did; while kissing was a pleasant feeling, and the feeling of his bones against your skin as he groped was amazing, you couldn’t bring yourself to let things go farther just yet.

More often than not, you thought that you saw relief on Sans’s face when you stopped short of letting him do anything more to you.

It wasn’t unexpected that there might be problems from when Sans was owned by other humans, but Sans always made light of every situation, including ones where he was on the receiving end of any criticism or even anger.

It made you wonder just how little of Sans you really knew.

“Sans,” You said quietly, moving so that you were pressed against him again, “Is there anything you need to tell me?”

You could feel Sans’s surprise, but after a short pause, he did answer.

“nah, i’m good,” Sans said, “there’s not a _skele_ ton of stuff i’d need to let off steam about.”

You smiled before kissing the underside of his jaw, “Ok, I’ll admit; that one was pretty _humerus_.”

Sans chuckled, his arm moving tighter around your waist until you could feel his ribs pressing into your body, shaking you in time with his laughter. You smiled, and opened your mouth again.

“Knock knock.”

You could feel Sans’s grin widen, “who’s there?”

“Pasture.”

“pasture who?”

“Pasture bedtime, isn’t it?”

Sans snorted before pressing his teeth to your cheek, and then your jaw before he moved down to your neck, sending chills and shivers to all sorts of places in your body before his spoke against your skin, imprinting his words into the soft flesh he found there.

“knock knock.”

Your breath hitched when he kissed your skin again, his magic buzzing through your veins, “Wh-who’s there?”

“dewey.”

You felt a smile appear, “Dewey, who?”

“dewey haveta go back to bed?” Sans nuzzled your neck before his teeth moved to your collarbone and you shivered at the contact.

“N-not necessarily,” You swallowed, “I hope you aren’t bothered-“

“no funny business,” He chuckled, “don’t worry, i know and it doesn’t bother me, sweetheart.”

Despite feeling relieved that he wasn’t going to push your boundaries, a small part of you couldn’t stop itself from feeling almost rejected. Despite these sorts of touches, he had no problem not wanting to go farther, or try to push you farther. You felt torn between loving him for his respect, and feeling undesirable.

Why couldn’t your feelings just give it a rest for once?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	5. The Storm on the Horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> I love all of you, and just so everyone knows (because a few people have mentioned it) the comment moderation is only for the troll, everyone's comments are still going to go through just like normal, I promise <3
> 
> Enjoy the chapter <3

Undyne growled before she picked up her spear again and launched herself forward. Sweat beaded on her brow and threatened to get into her eye, but she ignored it; her only arm was occupied with her spear and she was in the middle of training.

She threw the spear, hitting her target—a large boulder that she’d found near the dump—before launching her body forward, spinning around to kick it with as much force as she could. Before she even landed the blow, she knew her balance was off and her foot slipped from under her.

Despite wanting to throw her left arm out, despite _feeling_ like she had, her body hit the ground, hard.

A frustrated, and altogether broken noise came from the blue woman’s throat, something akin to a cry of frustration and a sob.

“GRAAHH!” Undyne screamed again, trying not to sound so weak, but tears were already forcing their way out of her eye and down her face, “Damnit, DAMNIT!”

A broken sob left Undyne’s mouth, but fire burned in her belly, “I’m _better_ than this! Damnit… _fuck_!”

Undyne had to roll onto her stomach to try and use her right arm to push herself up, but her balance shifted in her anger and haste, and she hit the ground again.

“ _DAMNIT_.”

Alphys almost couldn’t call out to her. The small yellow dinosaur had come to visit Undyne, since the blue woman had all but secluded herself to waterfall. She wasn’t coming to meetings, Asgore wasn’t calling for her to do any guard duty, even Inker kept telling Undyne to take time to heal.

But now, Alphys could see it. Undyne, despite all of her reassurances that she was ok, that she could handle anything, that this wasn’t even a bump in the road…

Undyne was _hurting_. Worse than that, Undyne didn’t even seem to be coping well.

“U-Undyne,” Alphys finally found a voice.

The blue woman started, finally pushing herself up to sit on her heels. Tears were still streaming down Undyne’s face, but instead of shock or pain etched into her features, Undyne looked almost…scared.

“U-Undyne, wh-what-“

“Go away…”

Alphys froze, her throat closing as Undyne struggled to her feet, “Wh-what? U-Undyne, y-you need h-help-“

“I _don’t_ need help!” Undyne snapped, turning to walk toward her house.

“W-wait,” Alphys started to follow.

“LEAVE ME ALONE,” Undyne roared before her door closed.

Alphys stopped, almost tripping, before she felt tears enter her eyes. What had just happened? Undyne completely blew her off, but also….was Undyne tired of her?

“U….Undyne…?” Alphys felt her voice break and it was a moment before she could speak again, “Is….is this a joke…?”

Alphys started to laugh nervously, “Its…its not very funny….”

Alphys laughed a little longer, and Undyne slid down her door, covering her face with her one hand, trying to ignore the way Alphys sounded.

The laughter from outside continued, but soon, the sound of it started to change. Each breath in seemed a little more forced, Alphys started to hiccup between laughs, Undyne could almost _hear_ Alphys trembling…

Alphys was crying.

Undyne felt her lips tremble, but she hesitated; how could she let Alphys see her like this? Undyne had always been the strong Royal Guard, able to do anything, able to beat _anyone_ , but now…

Now she couldn’t even keep her balance. Now, she fell all the time and training was more than just hard work, training was a chore. Undyne’s pride was shattering, day by day, and it hurt worse than when Papyrus had actually taken her arm.

There was a moment of silence, and Undyne swallowed.

Alphys was gone.

~*~

Lyris slowly rubbed Papyrus’s back, though a part of her knew the skeleton was fast asleep. Things had been in such a limbo since she’s been allowed to stay with Sans, Frisk and You. Despite being sure that Dr. Gaster and Gingler would know where she was, she hadn’t gotten any signs that they were still even there in the void. No dreams, no attempts at contact…

A small voice inside had started to whisper that this was some big joke, meant to hurt her, but why would Gaster and Gingler do that to her? Leave her here in a timeline that wasn’t hers? Despite Lyris feeling useful and that she didn’t care to belong anywhere else, she couldn’t stop the darker thoughts from coming in to hover over her mind and soul.

You had been a gem through all of this, and Lyris couldn’t stop herself from admiring you a little. Despite being overworked and having the handful that was Frisk and Flowey, you still managed to treat everyone with kindness and patience.

Lyris could barely keep it together just trying to help Papyrus.

Not that Papyrus was any kind of bother. It was more the stress of having Sans watching what she was doing most of her day. Whenever he was around, Lyris had to pretend that he wasn’t there, or she’d lock up and get self-conscious.

Sans didn’t like her, and it was obvious he didn’t trust her; honestly, Lyris didn’t blame him. The way she just suddenly showed up and acted like she knew what was going on…everyone should be suspicious of her. But so far, only Sans seemed keen on keeping an eye on her.

Today, to her relief, Sans was nowhere to be seen for the day.

Lyris thought she heard movement downstairs, and realized it must be you. Papyrus’s room felt a little cramped, so she leaned down to caress Papyrus’s skull.

“Pap…?” She said quietly, “Papyrus, I’m going to the kitchen; do you want to come with me?”

Papyrus moved a little, his eyes opening only a little before they found her eye. He shifted a little, seeming to think about her question.

“Is…is anyone else home…?” Papyrus asked.

“I think Sans’s girlfriend is,” Lyris glanced at the door, “Maybe Frisk, too, but other than that, no.”

“I…I don’t know,” Papyrus pushed himself up on to his elbows, glancing at the floor with uncertainty.

“Come on, Papyrus,” Lyris gently rubbed his skull, “You were trapped in that room at the penthouse for over a year; you don’t want to do that to yourself here in the Underground, do you…?”

“I…no, no I don’t,” Papyrus swallowed, “Can…can we come back here?”

Lyris offered him a smile, “As soon as it feels like too much, we’ll come back here, I promise.”

Papyrus slowly eased himself out of bed and stood, heading for the closet for a different set of clothes. Lyris glanced down at his thigh before she turned her back respectfully. The bone of his thigh had always been more than a tender subject; it was an injury that didn’t seem to heal well. In the middle of the white bone, Lyris could see a bright orange line where the bone had been snapped in half, but not cleanly. It was a splintered and jagged line, one that had made her tear up and cry when he had finally been able to tell her the story of how he got it.

Self-conscious of it—and other injuries—Papyrus chose to wear a large t-shirt and baggy basketball shorts. When he was ready, Lyris gently took his hand and lead him out of the door and into the main living area of the house.

It really was a cute home, Lyris thought; and a part of her wondered how similar it was to the house the brother’s lived in back in her own timeline. There was noise coming from the kitchen, and Lyris eased Papyrus in that direction, encouraging him with a squeeze of her hand and quiet murmurs of encouragement.

Papyrus still looked unsure of himself, but he didn’t stop moving forward.

You had tried to keep focused, but today was already turning into a day you’d like to just go back to bed.

Sans had insisted that Frisk show Flowey to Asgore and at least give some explanation, and while Frisk seemed reluctant to do that, they didn’t look to you for whether they should do it or not.

You had still told them, “Frisk, you need to do what you feel is right.”

And with that, they agreed to go with Sans to the throne room.

They were back to signing instead of speaking, and neither you nor Sans questioned it. Frisk was heading toward 13 very quickly and you were starting to get a feeling that despite the fact that you were the guardian, Frisk didn’t actually want or need an adult in their life. It felt a little…distancing to realize that, but thinking on it, you wondered just _what_ had happened to the small child you knew before your sister died.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard two sets of feet coming down the stairs. Despite the mood you had started in, a small swell of hope and happiness started in your chest. Lyris and Papyrus were out and about; hopefully that meant Papyrus really was starting to recover. Sans had started to worry his brother was irreparably damaged, though he would never say as much near Papyrus, Lyris or Frisk.

“Morning,” You said gently when Lyris and Papyrus appeared around the corner.

“Good morning,” Lyris smiled, one of her hands moving to Papyrus’s spine when he stopped in the archway the lead into the kitchen.

You offered a smile to Papyrus, but seeing how uncomfortable he was, you focused on Lyris, “It’s good to see you both up and about; Sans and Frisk went to New Home for the day, so it should be pretty quiet around here.”

Lyris nodded, “Are you home for the day today?”

“Probably,” You nodded, rinsing out the rag you had been holding, “I just finished the kitchen and I was about to try and think of what to do for dinner-“

Almost immediately, Papyrus quietly said, “spaghetti.”

You blinked before looking up at him, “Spaghetti? Ah, Sans told me you loved spaghetti, so would you like me to make that?”

“Ah…” Papyrus nodded before he made a movement like he wanted to back away.

Lyris didn’t move her hand, but let him have the room he felt he needed, “Papyrus, why don’t we help her? You love cooking spaghetti, right?”

Papyrus shifted where he stood, glancing at the stove and then at you. You tilted your head before asking, “Would it make you more comfortable if I left the kitchen? I’m sure you and Lyris could make dinner just as well as I could.”

Lyris offered you a shy smile, before looking up at Papyrus, “What do you say, Pap? Think you’re up to cooking?”

“I…I can cook dinner,” Papyrus suddenly nodded, his back moving a little straighter, “I can cook dinner, just like I could before.”

He started to sound unsure of himself, and Lyris spoke up immediately, “Of course you can, Pap! I bet your spaghetti is even better than before!”

Papyrus nodded, catching a little of Lyris’s enthusiasm, “Yes! I can cook dinner, I’m the great Papyrus!”

You found yourself smiling and you stepped away from the stove so Papyrus could move toward it, his eyes focused on what he was doing rather than his own insecurities.

Lyris hesitated, but nodded, “Pap, we’ll be sitting at the table if you need us, alright?”

Papyrus hesitated a moment before he squared his shoulders, “Right!”

You settled yourself before leaning back in your chair, watching as Lyris claimed another for herself.

“You’ve been doing a great job helping him, Lyris,” You said quietly, though you didn’t have to worry about Papyrus overhearing now that he was starting to make his own noise of gathering ingredients and pots and pans.

Lyris blushed, “Ah, thanks…I worry that I don’t push him enough, but I don’t want to cause any more damage to him, and I don’t want to lose his trust…then who’d he go to?”

You nodded slowly, “I’m sorry Sans has been in your hair; he’s been so worried about Papyrus and now his brother doesn’t even seem to want him around-“

“That’s not true,” Lyris suddenly said, blushing when she realized she interrupted you, “Sorry, go ahead.”

“No, what were you saying?”

“Um…” Lyris cleared her throat before speaking, “Papyrus wants Sans nearby; he doesn’t feel safe unless Sans is home, or he knows that Sans can get home quickly. He just…Pap…”

Lyris struggled with the words for a moment before she quietly added, “Papyrus is completely overtaken with guilt over the things Masters made him do…he…he doesn’t want Sans to be ashamed of him. He’s terrified Sans will get mad or somehow punish him for the things that happened.”

You pressed your lips together, glancing at Papyrus’s back before you said quietly, “Sans would never; he’s been so worried about Papyrus, and he wants to help Papyrus get back to where he was before.”

The cycloptic monster nodded, “I know; Sans loves Papyrus, that much is so clear that even I can see how much it would benefit Papyrus just to talk to Sans, but I don’t want to make Papyrus talk to him before he’s ready. I mean, what if that just makes Papyrus close off even more?”

You nodded, a small sigh leaving you, “It seems everyone left that penthouse a little broken.”

Lyris hesitated before asking, “…even you?”

You froze, glancing up at her before laughing nervously, “Wh-who said anything about me? I mean, I was only there for one night, and it wasn’t like anything really happened…”

There was a pause as Lyris watched you patiently, and you felt your stomach twist from that look. It was like Lyris already _knew_ and all you could do was finally give in.

“Except that…” You swallowed hard, “I…I watched him die, Lyris; Masters was a horrible creature all the way to the end, but when he was suddenly just _gone_ like that…I felt guilty. I don’t…I don’t even know why; so many others that he put through hell, Gabbie was even broken down by him, but seeing him just wiped from existence, I…”

Lyris reached over and put a hand on yours before she quietly said your name, “You’re a good person; its naturally to mourn the death of someone, even if they were a horrible person. Others might not understand, but I do. Death is such a permanent thing, so why wish it on anyone?”

You glanced away, “I think Masters got what he deserved, though…”

She nodded, “As do I, but I pity him at the same time. I’m not sure what happened in his life that he thought his actions justified, but I wonder just how much of him was broken inside, and how he must have been looking for someone just as broken to be able to relate to.”

You blinked, “You think that’s why he was so cruel to people? To find someone he could actually understand?”

“Maybe,” Lyris shrugged, “Or maybe he really was just a horrid person; either way, it’s pitiable.”

Another moment of silence fell between the two of you as you watched Papyrus start to get more energetic about his cooking. Despite how much he seemed to enjoy it, and how Lyris was getting into his actions, you felt yourself start to think some darker thoughts.

Just how easily would it be for anyone to become like Masters? How little do you have to care about another person to do what he did? Your thoughts fell on Gabbie and you shuddered. Despite the horrible way he died, you wondered just what it was about Masters death that made you feel so guilty.

You opened your mouth to speak, but you looked at the front door instead when it suddenly opened and Frisk burst in still carrying Flowey, running to hide behind the couch—a new favorite spot for them, since they no longer had their own room to hide in—with Sans walking in not long after.

“heya,” Sans sounded exhausted, but as soon as he closed the door, he was staring at Papyrus in the kitchen, “p-pap?”

You stood and intercepted him before he could do anything rash, “Sans, why don’t you come sit at the table with us? Tell us about your day and all?”

Sans hesitated, his eyes still locked onto Papyrus in the kitchen—who’s actions had slowed, once he had heard you talking to Sans—but he let you lead him to the table.

Once a moment had passed and nothing happened, Papyrus went back to his normal clattering in the kitchen; you and Lyris both breathed a sigh of relief, while Sans gave you both a strange look.

“Sans,” You said quietly, “Papyrus is cooking dinner, so we’re gunna steer clear of the kitchen for now.”

Sans hesitated again before glancing at Lyris, “how is he doing?”

His voice was a little strained, but you were glad he was at least staying civil with Lyris.

“He’s doing much better,” Lyris answered, her eyes moving to rest on Papyrus’s back, “This is the first time he’d been out since we came back from the whole ordeal; I promised him we can go back up into the bedroom as soon as he feels he can’t handle being out here anymore, but hopefully next time the two of us can take a walk around Snowdin.”

You smiled, “Maybe he’d be up to recalibrating those puzzles he loves.”

Sans nodded absently, shifting in his seat as he turned to watch Papyrus again. You could almost feel his overprotective brotherly instincts trying to push him to do or say something, but you reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Sans, he’s ok,” You said, “It’ll take time, but he’ll come around to talking in front of you.”

Sans looked at you before he stood from his chair, “i’ll be up in the room, sweetheart.”

He said it shortly and you winced when he turned his back, but you shook your head when Lyris opened her mouth to call him back.

“He’s just hurting, Lyris,” You explained quietly, “No matter how laid-back and apathetic he acts, Sans was more worried about Papyrus than he was about anything else.”

Lyris pressed her lips together, but couldn’t stop herself from feeling that she had really caused a lot of problems by coming to this timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	6. When It Knocks On Your Door

The penthouse was still a ruin, from what he could see. The fighting that had happened left holes in walls, rubble and earth everywhere, and the hole that Papyrus had blasted in the locked room was still open and letting in a draft.

It was no wonder that Gabriella no longer lived here, he thought. No matter; finding a new place to set up his base of operations would be the simplest of actions, now that he had access to this kind of power.

He felt a grin take over his face. Perhaps it was time for him to at least reveal himself to those sad excuses for monsters…the ‘Agents’ and the ‘Resistance’ would need all the warning they could get to take him on and this was turning into quite a fun game for him.

“Then let it be so,” He spoke out into the darkness, opening a door back into the void in order to cross to another place in this timeline.

~*~

“Are you mad at me?”

You paused in helping Frisk in their work—you had looked up some home-schooling courses to give Frisk, to keep them on track for their schooling—to blink at them slowly.

“What do you mean, Frisk?”

“Because I brought Flowey home…” Frisk glanced at said flower and you did too.

Flowey had proven to be a lot of rude talk, but hadn’t even used his magic since coming into the house with Frisk. Even now, he was pretending to not be interested at all in what Frisk was learning, but you could still see the way Flowey’s mouth moved silently as he worked out the answers for himself.

You took a slow breath before answering, “Frisk, you disobeyed me, disrespected Sans and potentially put everyone in the house in danger.”

Frisk winced with each item you listened, but froze when you finally added, “But I’m not angry with you.”

The look of relief washed over Frisk’s face, and they nodded before signing, “I’m sorry, Aunty; I know you asked me not to, but you always tell me to do what I think is right…”

You sighed, “Frisk, you seem to know a lot of what happened down here in the Underground; more than even Sans or Asgore. Is that why you act without regard to other people?”

Frisk winced again and lowered their head to the table, not answering your question.

“You know, you won’t ever get away from answering my questions, right?” You offered a small smile before putting a hand on Frisk’s shoulder, “Why don’t you want to talk about it?”

Frisk glanced at Flowey, but the golden flower just ‘hmph’ed and glanced away. A part of you wondered just what Flowey had to do with anything, but Frisk finally sat up and you glanced their way.

“Flowey told me to keep his secret, and I don’t want to break a promise!”

Ah, so there was something, at least.

You glanced at Flowey, “Well, if Flowey gives you permission to tell me, would you?”

Flowey glared at you, but Frisk answered, “Of course I would, Aunty!”

“Well, I ain’t givin you nothin!” Flowey snapped, his high pitched voice grumbling.

“You know,” You rolled your eyes discreetly, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you act no older than Frisk.”

Flowey bristled, “I’m older than most monsters down here!”

If he would have had fur, you knew it would be standing on end, but you simply nodded, “Alright, alright, I understand.”

“Good!”

Frisk giggled before picking up their pencil again to finish their work.

Then something happened that shook everything that had been happening in the Underground, on the Surface, everywhere.

When it happened, it happened so that everyone could see it.

Like a projected across the ceilings of the Underground, and as if the voice was coming from the very floor, he appeared in a moment.

“Hello, monsters of this timeline,” The voice shook the house enough that you nearly dove under the table, but as soon as you caught sight of Frisk pointing through the window, you and Sans hurried outside.

Across the ceiling of the cave systems, a man was projected, or perhaps he had simply appeared? You couldn’t tell, but a chill ran through you when you recognized the coldness in his eyes.

“M…Masters?” You nearly gagged on the name and Sans started when he heard you say it.

“what??”

Sans had been thinking of a very different name.

The man—monster?—that had appeared was pale, almost white, with very human looking eyes, despite them being surrounded by black. If anything, they almost reminded you of the way Sans’s eyes were.

“Perhaps it would do well for me to introduce myself,” The voice continued, and you swallowed, nearly letting your shaking knees take you to sitting in the snow, “As I will soon control this pitiful timeline, perhaps I should just allow you insects to call me ‘Master’.”

He laughed then and you had to cover your ears from the volume of it. When you uncovered your ears, you noticed Lyris was standing next to you, horror on her face as she looked up.

“Dr. Gaster…?”

Sans spun around when he heard her say that name, his grin more of a grimace, “how do you know that name??”

Before Lyris could answer, the monster above continued to talk, “Just call me, the Victer, as I will win if any of you choose to challenge my power.”

“Prepare yourselves,” He continued, chuckling, “Humans, monsters…soon, none of that shall matter.”

And then he was gone, like a bad dream.

“What the hell!” You suddenly felt your knees give and you sat in the snow, ignoring the way it seemed to soak your pants immediately.

You were ignored for the moment as Sans turned on Lyris again.

“who was that and how do you know gaster??” Sans’s hand were clenched into fists.

“I…” Lyris took a step back before she answered, “I don’t know who that was, but he looked…he looked like Dr. Gaster.”

“how do you know that name?” Sans insisted before saying, “no one in the underground remembers that gaster even existed, so how do you know about him?”

Lyris froze, her hand coming up to her chest as if to ward off Sans’s anger, but she didn’t seem to want to answer. Sans took a step forward, but you reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

He hesitated, glancing at you while you sat on the ground before he looked back at Lyris, “listen, pal, you and i both know that i don’t trust you, so you better start talking real quick.”

You tried to stand, but your legs still felt weak, “Sans, stop, there’s no way-“

“No, I…I do owe you an answer,” Lyris glanced at the ground before letting her hands drop, “I…I left Papyrus alone, I have to check on him, but tonight…tonight after he falls asleep, I’ll tell you both what I know, I promise.”

Sans looked ready to protest, but you finally stood and put a hand on his shoulder, making him glance at you while you answered, “That’s fine, Lyris; go ahead and head back inside.”

The shorter skeleton looked ready to disagree, but Lyris didn’t wait to hear what he had to say.

Sans turned to you, “what was that? you can’t really think that she’s not suspicious or-“

“Sans, stop!” You moved to stand in front of him; you didn’t want to be doing this right now. What you wanted and needed was for your boyfriend to come back from whatever cloud of rage he was in so you didn’t feel like you were completely alone when it came time to go inside and comfort Frisk, and help the others, “I get it that you don’t trust Lyris, but this has gotten ridiculous.”

“its not ridiculous,” Sans insisted, “she just appeared out of nowhere, and now she knows who gaster is-“

“Just _who_ is Gaster?” You asked, “And why is it so strange that she’d know about him?”

That made Sans go quiet.

Frustration built up inside of you; first Frisk refuses to tell you anything, and now Sans doesn’t seem to want to let you know something that is obviously important. At least Lyris seemed willing—even if it was forced—to answer questions, but a part of you wondered if it was on purpose that you seem to be kept in the dark.

You sighed and turned away, fully intending on heading into the house even as irritation burned in your stomach.

“sweetheart?” Sans suddenly called, sounding uncertain.

You stopped at the door and glanced back, “Yeah?”

Sans winced at your tone, but started to follow you into the house, “never mind…”

You felt like crying, you were so frustrated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	7. Despite Everything...

Less than an hour after the instance with ‘Victer’, Calin was dropped off at Sans’s house by the Ice Wolf. He looked a little worse for wear, but he seemed to draw a sense of comfort and strength from being surrounded by familiar faces.

Still, the tension in the house made him scurry up to Papyrus’s room.

Lyris answered the door, “Yes? Oh, Calin!”

Calin offered her a smile, “Would I be able to come in?”

Lyris glanced toward Papyrus—who gave an affirmative nod—and then opened the door to let Calin in.

“How are you two doing?” Calin asked as he set his backpack down.

“I’ve been better,” Lyris forced a small smile.

Papyrus didn’t answer at first, but then said, “Today is a good day.”

Calin glanced at Lyris before saying, “That’s great, Papyrus—been getting out and about?”

“He cooked dinner the other night,” Lyris offered a genuine smile as she said this, while Papyrus looked a little embarrassed.

“It wasn’t anything great…” Papyrus said.

Calin blinked before he said, “No way! That’s awesome!”

“It _was_ great!” Lyris added, “Because it was a dinner cooked by the _Great Papyrus_!”

Papyrus glanced between Lyris and Calin before a small ‘nyeh’ came from him and he said, “It…it was pretty great, wasn’t it?”

“Yes!” Lyris said, “It was the best spaghetti I’ve ever had.”

Papyrus swelled with pride and happily went back to planning battle strategies with his action figures.

Lyris smiled, but Calin lowered his voice to ask, “So…What’s with all the tension downstairs?”

Lyris pressed her lips together. Her eyes focused on Papyrus, even though Calin could see that Lyris wasn’t seeing Papyrus.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Calin asked.

“I…I’m scared,” Lyris finally admitted, “With what happened…”

“With that strange thing on the cave ceiling?”

“Yes…” Lyris glanced at Papyrus, “I just…I have my own secret I have to tell.”

Calin understood immediately, “Will you be ok?”

Lyris hesitated, “I…don’t know what will happen.”

“I’ll support you,” Calin said, “For sure!”

~*~

You weren’t sure what to think as Lyris unfolded her tale.

Other timelines? Dimensions? The Void? The idea of it all made your head hurt and you had to make tea halfway through Lyris’s story.

Except, it wasn’t just a story.

“I don’t know what happened to Dr. Gaster or Gingler after I found myself in this timeline; I thought they might have been trapped in the void, but…”

But for that spectacle outside,” You supplied quietly.

“Yes…”

Sans didn’t speak at first, but still managed to ask, “so, what happens now?”

Lyris looked at him questioningly, “What do you mean?

“that was obviously some sorta fusion between my dad and masters,” Sans explained, leaning forward in his chair, “and that could be very bad for us.”

Calin spoke up for the first time, “Is that possible? A fusion between monsters and humans?”

“yes,” Sans answered, “it was one of the reasons monsters were driven underground.”

Lyris nodded knowingly, “It was always assumed that when a human soul was absorbed by a monster, the monster would remain in control, and humans feared the idea of a monster with the power of a human soul.”

“but, by the looks of it,” Sans added, “masters is the one in control.”

“Okay, I have to interject here,” You shook your head and pulled one of your legs up to rest on the seat, “We were on that roof together, Sans; Masters _died_ …”

Sans shook his head, “just before i blasted him, i felt a powerful magic surround his soul; then he just,” Sans shrugged, “disappeared.”

You fell silent and chewed on your lip as you look from one person to the next.

“How do we get your dad and Masters separated?” Calin broke the silence.

“I…” Lyris looked surprised, “I don’t think that’s possible, but…”

“but who really knows anything about monster-human fusions,” Sans finished for her, “asgore is one of the oldest living monsters, maybe we can ask him?”

“Inker,” You supplied, “And the River Person; we could ask them as well.”

Lyris glanced up at the second floor and you realized it had been a couple hours since Lyris had left Papyrus alone. You opened your mouth to let Lyris go check on the taller skeleton, but you were distracted by a tug at your sleeve.

“Frisk?” You glanced at Flowey before looking at your chibling, “What’s wrong?”

“Flowey can help,” Frisk held up Flowey’s pot.

“What do you-“

_Stay out of this, Asriel!_

You, Frisk, and Flowey all flinched and you felt your head begin to pound with a headache so painful that your hands came up reflexively to hold your head. Frisk held Flowey to their chest and Flowey cowered against Frisk, his eyes closed tightly.

“what’s wrong?” Sans put a hand on your arm and looked between the three of you.

You felt your eyes start to water from the sharp pains shooting through your head and down your neck.

Papyrus suddenly screamed, and Lyris jumped out of her chair and hurried upstairs with Calin hot on her heals. Sans turned his head and you took a moment to try and breathe. You felt shaky and weak, and a glance toward Frisk and Flowey showed they felt the same.

Had they heard it too, then…?

Sans opened his mouth to ask again when Lyris’s voice came from upstairs.

“Sans, Papyrus is asking for you.”

As if he couldn’t believe it, Sans hesitated a moment. His movements felt automatic as he stood and started for the stairs. He stopped and glanced back at you, but you quickly waved him away.

His concern, while sweet, should be on his brother, you thought.

You tried to focus on other things, like the child and flower in front of you.

“Frisk,” you finally said, your voice weak, “…did you hear that voice, too?”

You knew how it sounded in your head, you knew it would make any sane person question your own sanity, but hearing yourself ask that question, in that voice…

You had to be crazy.

Frisk settled Flowey on the table and lifted their hands to sign, but it was Flowey who answered.

“What’s it to you?” Flowey snapped, glaring at you.

You watched the flower for a moment, but turned back to Frisk.

“Frisk?”

Frisk glanced at Flowey, but still answered.

“It’s Chara,” Frisk said, “Chara doesn’t want Flowey or me to help you.”

“Why?” You leaned forward in your chair.

“Cause you’re an _idiot_!” Flowey snapped again, “Chara’s been trying to communicate with you, but you’re too _stupid_ to listen!”

You frowned and glared at Flowey, but your mind began to race, the headache coming back full force.

The dreams…now you could start to see them hazily form in your head. The staircase, the one that shared the hallway with the throne room…A chill ran down your body and you remembered the pull you felt that day in Alphys’s lab.

Frisk was signing, but you werne’t absorbing what they were saying. Your body moved, but you weren’t sure if you were the one moving it.

“Frisk, stay here,” you said, moving toward the door.

_Neither of you follow!_

You swallowed, your hand automatically reaching for the knob and soon, you were marching obediently toward New Home.

~*~

Red eyes. Too-wide smile. It was the human, but…not the human at the same time.

Papyrus saw those eyes every time he stared into a dark corner and it was those blood thirsty red eyes that woke him up.

Lyris rushed into the room and turned the lights on, chasing the shadows away and easing the tight knot of fear that was resting in his ribcage.

“Papy,” Lyris panted, having run up the stairs, “What’s is it? What’s wrong?”

“I…” Papyrus hesitated before swallowing, “It was a nightmare…where’s Sans?”

The edge of fear in Papyrus’s voice made Lyris stop and study him. Calin panted when he appeared in the doorway, but the alarm in his eyes faded when he saw nothing obvious.

Lyris hesitated only a moment more before she moved to the doorway and called out, “Sans, Papyrus is asking for you.”

Papyrus swallowed, but he had to see for himself that Sans was okay…that it really _had_ been a dream.

It didn’t take Sans long to appear in Papyrus’s doorway. For him, it was like seeing the Underground again after being gone for years. It was familiar, but being here with Papyrus again…It almost made the smaller skeleton choke on his feelings.

Papyrus released the breath he’d been holding, but Sans caught the way Papyrus’s eyes glanced behind him almost apprehensively.

“heya, pap,” Sans tried to sound as normal as he could, “what’s the matter?”

Papyrus hesitated, but Sans’s casual demeanor calmed his nerves before he could work himself up.

“I…had a nightmare, brother,” Papyrus said, and Sans hated how restrained and calm his voice was. A moment of anger toward Masters flashed across his soul, and he had to control himself before it showed.

Lyris spoke while Sans got himself under control.

“Well, Masters isn’t here-“

“It wasn’t about him,” Papyrus interrupted quietly, “It…it was about…”

Papyrus started to tremble, and Lyris quickly said, “Just take your time, Papy…there’s no need to push yourself.”

“The…the human,” Papyrus clutched at his blanket, somehow managing to look like a small, frightened child despite his size, “Red eyes…Sans, you had been turned to dust and-“

Papyrus seemed to choke on the words and Sans was quick to comfort.

“ya don’t have to worry bout frisk,” Sans said, his mind moving to Chara almost as quickly as Papyrus spoke, but Papyrus was shaking his head.

“N-not Frisk,” Papyrus swallowed and then…

He said your name.

~*~

“Stop talking,” You said quietly, trying to avoid any monsters you saw, “Shut up, just shut up.”

Chara laughed cruelly, but they didn’t listen.

 _You’re so naïve, thinking you could live down in the Underground—just wait until you see what monsters_ really _think of humans._

You pinched your inner arm, trying to focus, but you were already walking through the judgment hall. The part that scared you was that Chara wasn’t really controlling you—not in a way you couldn’t fight or ignore—the part that scared you was that you really were curious. Sans was a huge part of your life now, almost as big as Frisk was, and more than that, there were many monsters you considered friends.

If, after everything, Asgore ordered a new barrier, would they let you stay? Did you _want_ to stay Underground? What about Frisk and your responsibility to them?

You swallowed when you realized you were already walking down the stairs, toward whatever Chara wanted to show you.

You pinched harder, hoping to catch yourself in another dream, but your feet were still carrying you toward the bottom of the staircase. The burning curiosity, the fear, the part of you that needed answers pushed and dragged you on, no matter how many times you tried to slow or stop.

_You’ll see. Everyone will regret their actions._

Chara almost seemed to be rambling, but you didn’t answer.

The bottom of the steps came too soon and you forced yourself not to look at the door on your left. You could see it, in your peripheral, you could feel Chara’s pulling, but you had to stall, you weren’t ready to see…

“Just who are you, Chara?” You asked quietly.

Chara, however, remained silent.

You wanted to whine, you wanted to cry and throw a fit, but you couldn’t fight your curiosity anymore.

At first, you didn’t know what you were seeing; 7 stone boxes were lined up in the long room beyond the door. You thought they were benches at first, before you noticed that each box was topped with an inscription, below a colored cartoonish heart—weren’t those representing souls?

_This is a graveyard._

Chara’s voice—low, without inflection—chilled you.

 _Monsters don’t need graveyards, because when a Monster dies, they turn to dust and are sprinkled on the thing they love. Only humans—only human_ bodies _, need a graveyard._

You swallowed, trying to stop the trembling that spread from your core to your limbs. Breathing got harder and you nearly stepped back, ready to run, but your body wouldn’t listen.

 _All of them were children, some younger than Frisk_ , Chara spat, _And Frisk would’ve joined them if they would have been weak._

“No, Frisk,” You felt your knees knock together before your legs dropped from under you, “No, frisk wouldn’t be so close to people who tried to-“

_Wouldn’t they?_

Your breath froze in your throat, making you choke. Flowey. Flowey had attacked Frisk before, and your chibling was still doing everything they could to help Flowey. Was it really a stretch to believe that Frisk wouldn’t extend the same to other Monsters?

You swallowed again, but it was hard to do with the huge lump in your chest. Monsters had attacked—monsters _had killed_ \--humans. They had looked you in the eye, ate dinner with you, came to rescue you, _knowing this_. Knowing about these coffins.

You put a hand to your mouth, unsure if you were ready to scream or throw up, but something was fighting to leave your mouth. Then, a though drifted past your mind that made you freeze.

Did Sans know? How could he share a bed and-

_In this timeline…there are no heroes._

No heroes…

“This timeline,” you grasped at straws, “Lyris mentioned timelines, too…”

Chara scoffed, _If you had listend to me all those years ago,_ you’d _know about timelines, too._

At first, the sentence meant nothing to you; just a moment of confusion and anger swelling at Chara’s tone with you. Then, slowly, as if prying open a door meant to stay closed, you felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, a sweeping of your senses, pulling you toward an undeniable fact:

You had known Chara. As a child, you had heard their voice, as clear as you could hear it now.

“You…you,” Your breath shortened and you braced yourself against the doorway, your hand covering your eyes so you could try to keep focus, “I thought you…”

 _I know what you thought_ , Chara spat, _You and your sister both thought I was some sort of imaginary friend, and got scared when you both realized that you both could hear me._

A vivid picture appeared in your mind; your sister, her eyes wide, her mouth slack before she quickly tells you to never speak to the ‘voice’ again. You had been so confused, and even angry with her. To your young mind, finding out that the two of you shared an ‘imaginary friend’ meant having fun together and playing new games, but her sudden demand had made the two of you fight and you had nearly listened to the voice—who you now realize was Chara all along—and ran away, just to be away from the house for awhile…

Or would it have been longer?

_”I…I felt like I had to._

You felt your stomach drop when you realized exactly what Frisk had meant all that time ago. Chara. Chara must have been able to talk to Frisk and after Frisk’s parents died, Chara convinced Frisk to run away…

“You…You little…” You started to shake from anger, “You’re the one who lead Frisk to the Underground and put them in danger!”

Chara didn’t answer and you no longer knew if it was because they weren’t there or if they didn’t want to answer. Your hands clenched, stinging your palms with your nails. You weren’t sure if you were more angry at Chara, or Sans, or all of the other monsters. You felt lied to, you felt betrayed, you felt…

Sad.

You hiccupped, tears welling in your eyes despite your frustrated attempts to stop them from coming. You couldn’t stop the trembling of your fists, or the way it started to reach for your core. You leaned away from the room with all the coffins and reached out, trying to push yourself to your feet. A scream—or was it a sob?—was trying to escape your throat, but you bit your tongue to keep it locked away as you climbed the stairs on all fours, before you could push up to take them two at a time.

It didn’t matter where you went, anymore. You just wanted away from the children, away from Snowdin, away from-

You ran headlong into what felt like a wall.

Balances shifted, and you tipped backwards, your mind racing to two separate thoughts:

You were about to fall back down the stairs, which would most certainly seriously injure you or worse.

You had run into Asgore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So, first and foremost, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I pushed through to finish it! It's kind of longish (maybe? I didn't compare it to other chapters, sooo.....haha), but I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> Now, to address the elephant in the room: yes, I was gone for a very long time. Yes, I do plan to finish this story. Yes, I will try to start posting regularly again. I do not have any idea what my posting schedule will be at the moment, but this story is one that I want to finish, for sure!
> 
> If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments, or on my tumblr: [PurpleFictionMom.tumblr.com](http://purplefictionmom.tumblr.com/) ((oh, and I changed my tumblr name, because I wanted my tumblr to cover all of my fanfiction, not just my undertale fanfiction haha))


	8. Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** WARNING: **   
>  ** Angst, Exposition **

Your world was weightless for all of 3 seconds before a large paw shot out and caught you around your back, its huge size covering you from shoulders to lower back. One of your legs dangled, not quite reaching the step below it, while the other foot has slid forward to jam against the step above.

Heavy panting moved your chest quickly and your eyes locked with Asgore, your tears all but forgotten even as they continued to fall down your face.

“Howdy,” Asgore said, but his usual booming voice was now quiet, and uncertain; his eyes darted from your tears to glance over your shoulder toward the bottom of the stairs, “…Perhaps you and I should sit down and talk.”

Despite the suggestion, you felt less of it as an order from a King and more a plea from a man.

“…Maybe we should,” You said, your voice much lower than you intended. You wanted to be angry still; you wanted to demand answers, but a part of you held back. A part of you was scared to know.

Asgore didn’t speak again until you were solidly on your feet and both of you were at the top of the stairs. You found your eyes straying to the bottom, though you couldn’t see it clearly.

“Why were you going down there…?” You looked up at the larger monster.

“I was going to visit my child,” Asgore answered after he turned his back to you, his feet beginning to lead him away, “And pay my respects.”

Your uneasiness settled a little at his answer, but you couldn’t stop yourself from looking down the staircase again. His child…?

You refrained from asking until you were both back inside of Asgore’s home, with a pot of tea on to boil and your face cleaned of your breakdown. You refrained from making any noise until then, to be honest.

The tea that was placed in front of you was honey-colored and the aroma soothed your frayed nerves and melted your fears into something a little more recognizable, rather than the horrors that they’d achieved in the darkness of the ‘graveyard’—if you were to use Chara’s word for it.

You didn’t drink yet, though, “Asgore, I…I don’t understand.”

Asgore’s eyes didn’t stray from the teapot in front of him as he settled in his own special chair that was much larger than others in the room, “I suppose it would be hard to understand for anyone outside of the Underground; it was why I decreed that it should remain a secret, when Frisk broke the barrier.”

There was a moment you wanted to burst out with your opinion on that decision, but instead of letting yourself loose, you instead reached for your cooling tea and sipped it in silence, allowing Asgore to continue. If Asgore knew or sensed you wanted to interrupt, he made no indication and continued with his story after a small pause to collect himself.

“I hope you can come to at least understand my actions,” Asgore finally said, “I, however, will never delude myself to believe you will condone them; it was a difficult and…hopeless time, for we monsters who had lived the full length of our imprisonment beneath this mountain.”

You blinked slowly before looking up at him, “You were alive before monsters were imprisoned? That had to be…”

Even as you tried to figure the amount of time a legend like Mt. Ebott would have to be forgotten, Asgore answered.

“Millennia,” He said, “Multiple—though we Monsters quickly learned to stop counting our years of imprisonment; too many died hoping our freedom would come in their lifetime, too many more wanted to tally the years with the intent of trying to gain vengeance or trying to teach humanity a lesson.”

Your eyes didn’t leave your teacup, though you weren’t surprised. A few monsters you were close to had told you about the story of how Monsters were trapped beneath the mountain. It was just another mark against humans in your book. With trapping an entire race beneath a mountain under their belt, it wasn’t a stretch to believe slavery was the next solution they’d reach for.

It was almost as if humans were wired to hate monsters, except for all the helpers. So many people were part of the Resistance, and just as many—more, now—were with the Agents. Why couldn’t there just be _peace_?

“Years passed, lifetimes of monsters faded into one another and soon, it was only we boss monsters who kept the old stories of the Surface alive,” Asgore continued, “Until one day, a human child fell from the Surface, and…everything changed.”

You almost didn’t have to be told who it was who fell.

“Their name was Chara,” Asgore said, his head bowed until you could no longer read his face well, “And my family came to love them as much as our own child.”

It became hard to breathe or swallow as a lump formed in your throat. The coffin, the one with that was closer than the others, had been emblazoned with a red soul and even though you only knew one child with such a hue, you did know of another child who seemed so much like your chibling; in looks, and pure tenacity.

“At that time, Toriel and I had another child as well: our son, Asriel,” Asgore continued, but his voice had lost any strength it once had, “The two children were as close as siblings and were never apart; those of us boss monsters still around began to fill hope was within our reach again. We began to…to think that perhaps, soon it will be our time to rejoin the surface, but this time in peace.”

Just him saying the word made it hard for you to breathe again.

There was a long pause then, as Asgore either collected himself, or tried to find the right words—or both—before he continued speaking, “Our lives were so…so good and when it ended, it simply crushed everything and everyone in the Underground.

“Chara became very ill and soon after, died,” Asgore said this stoically, but you wondered if it was a forced apathy, “Asriel, unable to cope, absorbed Chara’s soul and left the Underground. Toriel and I were terrified; we had just lost one child and now our first was gone to a place that we could not follow, a place we could not protect him from or offer guidance.”

As soon as Asgore mentioned the absorption, you involuntarily drew a breath in through your nose. Before Chara’s meddling, that’s what had been the topic in the little house in Snowdin. Asgore was right here in front of you, talking about the very thing that you knew needed to be asked, but…

Your stomach shrank in your body as you realized that you didn’t have the will to interrupt Asgore, nor the desire to touch base. All that had consumed you was the vision of seven coffins, the final resting places of children like Frisk.

Asgore had mentioned his children before, back before you had been abducted by Masters; even then, you had felt the chilling and mourning aura of a father who had lost his children. Chara and Asriel; it seemed so fitting that Asgore had been so benevolent toward humans, even despite their actions to his people. Deep inside, Monsters were not of the same ilk as humans; where humans reached for their collective cruelty, even toward each other, monsters reached for peace and hope. Yes, they strayed; Asgore himself spoke of monsters wanting revenge, but when push came to shove and a human fell into the Underground, Chara was treated with the same level of love and care as the Prince of the Monsters.

You pressed your lips together and pulled in a steady breath.

“Humans killed Asriel, didn’t they?” You asked, but when you met Asgore’s eyes you realized that you already knew the answer.

“Yes, my child,” Asgore’s low rumbling voice hummed in your chest, “Asriel, who had taken Chara’s body back to the Surface to grant them their final wish, was attacked and badly hurt by humans, though my son refused to return their actions in kind.

“He allowed the humans to hurt him until all he could do upon his return, was to fall to the floor in the middle of my throne room, and turn to dust.”

The heaviness of Asgore’s words weighed you down like an anchor; you sat in your chair with your hands folded in your lap and you could only stare at your empty cup, and the small pool of honey-colored liquid that had gathered at the bottom. Despite this—perhaps even in spite of it—you still drew in a breath to speak.

“There are seven coffins at the bottom of those steps.”

Asgore’s eyes fell, and he nodded, “Yes, there are seven; one belongs to Chara, and the other six to children who fell into the Underground after the death of both of my children.”

You felt strength return to your limbs at his words, but he continued to speak before you could find your own words.

“In my grief, I declared war on the Surface,” Asgore admitted, “In my devastation, I vowed vengeance for my children. Anyone who fell from the Surface was an enemy, an enemy whose soul I would use to break our barrier and free all of monster-kind.”

His voice grew stronger and his eyes blazed as he relived the moment, his back straightening and his hands closing into fists; but the moment ended, as he slowly sank back into himself, pain stretched across his face like a veil.

“In my ignorance, I made a decision that I later realized I could not take back; monsters began to hope for the Surface again, and life prospered in the darkness of these caves,” He turned his head to look out a window at the darkness that was outside, “The first human who fell did not even know what was happening until they were in front of my throne and their soul was in my hands.”

You felt sick to your stomach and you wished he would stop.

“Toriel, horrified by my actions, left,” Asgore said quietly, “As she should; I had become a monster in name, and intended to live my duties to their fullest. In my deepest hopes, I wished for a human to fall who would end my life, and thus spare further bloodshed, but fate decreed that I should bear the full burden of my foolish and wrong decision.”

His voice slowed and rumbled, and you had to swallow before you could speak.

“…Frisk was a very lucky child, weren’t they?” You didn’t want him to answer, because you knew what Asgore was going to say and a part of you—a deep, dark pit inside of you—hated him for it.

“…Yes, they were,” Asgore nodded, unable to look you in the eye, “It was my intention, when the barrier broke, that once things had settled on the surface and my people were safe, I would disappear back here in the Underground; as punishment for my actions, I would not allow myself to remain in the light of the sun, or to reap the benefits of living on the Surface, but…”

“…but we humans decided to instill our own brand of welcome,” You finished for him, “…You were right; I don’t condone your actions, even a little.”

“I would have been very disappointed in you if it had been any other way,” Asgore admitted.

“I…I don’t even know if I can say I understand them,” You shook your head, but you stopped before you could add any more. Couldn’t you?

How easily you forgot how much you let slide by in the name of keeping Frisk safe. Even without agreeing to the horrible nature of monster slavery, you had let yourself be silence, and even partook because Frisk had been so determined to find their friends. You kept their collars on, even after they had a way to take them off, because of your misguided notions of protecting Frisk. You allowed yourself the luxury of standing on a higher moral plane without bothering to step in and make the change that was sorely needed in the world and all in the name of protecting your chibling—no, you thought of Frisk as more than that now; Frisk was your _child_.

“No, actually,” You finally added, your eyes slowly lifting to stare at the wall across from you before you turned your head to look at Asgore, “I _do_ understand; Frisk is so important to me, I made my own horrible mistakes in the name of protecting them. I can’t make excuses, or push the blame, because they were my decisions, and now I can see that they were wrong.”

Was that relief crossing Asgore’s face? You couldn’t tell, but you couldn’t ponder long on it because a knock came from the front door.

“A-Asgore!” Alphys’s voice came from outside, “A-Asgore, I-I was able t-to track that magical e-energy! Th-that monster was e-exactly what we th-thought, a Synergy!”

Without another glance at you, Asgore was up from the table and heading for his door. You hesitated, but only for a moment before you stood and followed. Asgore already had the door open, and Alphys—who was so much _smaller_ than the King; and was she paler than you last remembered?—was quickly explaining.

“H-he was able to use that s-sort of magic b-because he was a-a Synergy,” Her voice shook a little less, and you thought perhaps it was because she was explaining something she was knowledgeable about, like when she talked about anime, “There’s no d-doubt that he was; a-and I think I kn-know at l-least half of his m-makeup.”

You quickly burst in, “We have to call Sans and Lyris; they can help.”

Asgore nodded, “Gather everyone in my throne room.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~! Another day, another chapter. No promises for the rest of this week because I watch two toddlers from 7am til about 5 and they're a handful xD I hope you all liked this chapter; there was a lot of talk between reader and Asgore, but I felt it was something reader needed to hear and it aligns itself pretty neatly with my own headcanons for Asgore, soooooo....lol
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleFictionMom.tumblr.com](http://purplefictionmom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	9. Around the Merry-G̈̀̐͆͋ͬͮ́͏̀0̸̷̾̾͑͘-̴̵̃̽̂̅ͥͥ̾R̬̯̮̹̲ͧ̽̓͆̾̚͘o̦̱̙̰̗̩̰ͨ͐ͪ͜ŭ̷̗̞̮͓̖̬͐ͅn͍̱̫̝͐͗ͬ͟d̶̡͎͙̹̙̬̠̝ͯ͆ͭ͞ͅ

“Dr. Gaster?” Alphys asked quietly, her eyes downturned in thought, “I-I mean…I-I remember th-that my p-predecessor was n-named ‘Gaster’ b-but-“

“Gaster was a dear friend,” Asgore said, before pausing, “At least, I once knew that to be true; up until I saw Victer on the cave ceiling, in my mind it was as if Gaster had been erased from my mind.”

“well, technically he was,” Sans said, his hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie, “his last experiment blew up in his face, so to speak.”

You glanced around the circle as people spoke; Asgore had called everyone, except not as many showed up. Undyne was missing—though from what you gathered, she still wasn’t back up to par with herself—and so was Inker. Lyris had specifically wanted to be a part of this meeting, and because of that Papyrus was shifting uncomfortably behind her, one of his gloved hands touching her shoulder, his eyes shifting uncertainly from person to person.

At Lyris’s direction, those in the circle respected Papyrus’s silence and tried not to glance at him too often.

“I don’t understand what could have happened,” Lyris said now, “When we tried to enter this timeline, I was the only one able to come; as far as I knew, Dr. Gaster and Gingler were left in the void.”

The second time Lyris had taken everyone through her story, it had taken a little longer. Asgore insisted on asking questions—and seeing as he and Alphys were the most out of the loop of this group, you understood completely. Despite this, you listened dutifully, and now you spoke.

“Well, Sans said that Masters’s soul disappeared from the rooftop,” You were watching the flowers on the floor, “And seeing as ‘Victer’ is an obvious fusion between the two of them, its obvious _why_ Masters’s soul disappeared.”

Frisk touched your elbow before pointing at Flowey; the flower wouldn’t look at you, and you were confused as to what Frisk was trying to say to you.

The discussion in the circle continued on.

“don’t ya know anything about breakin a fusion, asgore?” Sans asked.

“There haven’t been many human-monster fusions in history, and none in my lifetime,” Asgore said quietly, his rumble nearly absent, “The only monsters who might have any idea are Inker or the River Person, but they are both absent.”

“Shouldn’t we be looking for them, then?” Lyris glanced around the circle, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but breaking the fusion seems the most obvious way forward.”

Frisk tried to sign something to you one-handed, but you were having a hard time, “Frisk, what is it?”

They pointed at Flowey again before turning Flowey to face them, giving a disapproving frown.

“What?” Flowey snapped, “I don’t wanna get involved!”

“Breaking the fusion may not even be possible,” Asgore soothed, “I can appreciate that you consider Dr. Gaster and Gingler to be friends, but we shouldn’t be hasty.”

Sans opened his mouth, but he froze when his glowing eyes saw something in a dark corner, “what-“

I͎̘̳͉̹̖̖ͬ̒̎̑̂̀̏ ̙̊w̬̹͌̓̓o̱̣͎̹̖͇̳͆͆ͤͪͦͥ̈́ú̫̫͇̪ͅl͑̾ͤͣͯ̽ͬd̺̓̿ͨ͂ͪ ̟̣̻͛s̟̬͉̯͔ͯ͂ͯ̀̉̃̑a̠̮̟̞̣y̼ͮ̐ͣͣ̍̇ ̣̰t̊̑͆̀͋ͬh̩͕̦̼̒̇͐̾̃ã̠̹̞̜ͥ̐͐̅t̟̲͔͇̾̑̑ͥͮ͆ ͎̺͕̲͉̏͆ͅt̮̃ͫ͛̀h̠ͨ̌ͩ̿̓͋i̞͎̳̖̬̹s̺̰̈́̽̌̒ ̲̭͉̘p̊ḁ͖̠́ͦ͛̎ͯr̝̙̬̫̯t̩̹̪̆̐ͬͤy̻̅̅͂ͫ ͈̻̗̘̻͈̊̈́ͭ́i̥̭̟̟͖͖͗s̞͍͙͇͚͊͌̐̔ ͔̫̈́ṏ̻̝͍̗̥̞͔̚v͓̝e̠̥͊r̞͓͚̤̱̼̒ͪ͐͑,̹̠̻̇ͅ ͍̥̳̹̙̤̝̉w̗ͪͬ́ͫͥ̾ő̠̹̻͆u̥͊͋ͭ͊ľ̞̱̹͖̪̇d̖̲̪̗̈́ͪͨ͑ͣͨͅn̦ͭ͌̾’̼t ̦̝̣̋̌ͯͣẏͬͣ̌̂̚ó̝̗̠͕̙̹ͩ̉̆ͯu̘̠̮̰ͦͫ͌?̝̩̂̾̌̈̀”̭̬̮͔̲̗̭̂ ̹̻͖̮̀̿̆͆̌͋Ḥ͖̗̲̍ͬͅe̙̥̤͙͈͓̓̂͑̿̄ ͈͙͙ͤ̍s͓̞͉̤̞͐̉̌ͩa̙̼͙ͭ̑̌̆̔̊ïͤ͒ͥ̒̐d̥̾̿̌͊̽̆ͨ ͔̇̍̓ͫi̩̽̾͛t̠̖͈͈̮͙͍̄͌̓̐̍̊ ͖s͍̙̘ͨͨ͑͛̚m̘ͬͦ̅o͖͇͖̩͔̘̒͂͊̃ͪ͛͒o͔̼͉̘̓̓ͨ͊ͩṭ͑̏ͧ̍͗̂̓ḣ̰̭͖̞̟ͧ͌͐ͅl̪̬̤͚̙̭͇y̗̥̣̣ͤͨ͑̎,̱̮̟̄̅̎ͅ ̺͍̟̒͑͒̉ͣ͂͒ḧ̝́ͧͭͩ̅i͇̯͚͌̌̏̔ͪs͖̩̏ ̲͓̫̾ͅw̭̻̻̰͚̰͌̽h̅̓͆í̤̜͇̘͚̈t̔̅̀̏e͍̗̳̯͈͑ͅͅ ̪s̠̠̝̮̥͒ͩ̿ͅk̭̮̬̲͚̯͐̑͋iͣ̏̐̚n̘̘ ̠̼̳͎̙̬ͩ͂ͤ̍̄ͅs̝̮̦͋̎o͖̝͓̪͈̊̔m̖͕͚͒̓̈́̂̽ͩ̚ĕ̜͕̤̻̜̂ͣ̃͛̎h̺̜̱͕͖̟o͊wͬͪ ̺͇͍͐̉å̬ͫ̃ͬͮͧ̿b͋̂́ṡ̪̪ͤͫ̿͐ó̝̣̆͊ͭ̈́̌r͎͚̞̖̱ͅb̺͕́ͧ̊ͨͅi̺͈̹̟̇̓n̯̿̋̎͌ͨ͗g̗̟̘̥͈̉͑͐ͫ͊ ̠͎̩̯ͣ̊͋̾a̰̰n͉̗̳̞̦̎̈́ͥͫͯ͌y̪ ͕̱͓̭̜͍̊ͮ̏̾̍l̬̹̦̲͖͇̓̈ͦͪi͚̥̯ͫ̎g̰ͦ̈́̊͊̉̇ȟ̬̠͇̠̜t̞͔̥̬͉͎ͮ ̭͚͋͊t̖͙̱̜͇͆h̳̫̜͓̭̱͐̏͒â̤̫̭̰̘͓͂́ͣt̤̳̫͙͖̗̎͆ ̜̹̮͉͗̊h͎̳̰ͯḭͣt͇̜͈̮̦̰̽̎͂͗̋ͦ ͇̟̥͇̗̑̈́͊͋͒̚ȋ̭̩̜̪̱̳͉ͬ̉͑̒̚t̞͓͇̙̓̒ͦ͆ͦ,̙͚͔͓̏̌̈́ͦ ̃m̳̩̲̩å̩̼̫̟͆ͭ̈̉k̗̘̀͐̂̋î̜̝̖̫̔ͧ́̑n͇̣̫͖̘͈ͭ̐̚g̺̱͈̗͈͊͗ͯ ̗̮̙͇̂͑̓ͪͅi̦̫̰̘̭͖͓͆ͦͩt̩̘̝͍͎͔̖̓̍̿ͬ ̓ͯä͈̝̫͗̇p̠ͤ̄ͮ̔p͉̮̖͇̲͔̤̒̉ͮ̽̇̑e͚̭͙̦̻͓͂͐ͥ̀a̖͔̜̹̣̱͈̓̚ṟ̗̻̹̈̽̂͛ͅ ̽͗̀a͎̭̬̤̹̋̇̇͑ͭ ̟̱̩͚̄̈́́͗p̩̳̖̳̗̙á̼̼̥̈̐̎̊͌s̗͍͉̗̥͙͋̑̑̄̂ṭ̬͓̳̪͎͇̽̀̾́̿ȳ̻̳̓̍͛͆̌ ̤̝͖͎͑̉̾̈͑͌ͅg̪̠̹͗̇r̪̜̭̪̗͂a̻͓̹͇͓͖͆̂ͮ͒y͓̬̪̼̹̝͎̐̽ͣ̆;͆̈ ̯̬͈͙̩̑ͬ̔h̙̊̓i̬̺̓s̪͈̉̂͊̇͐͂ͅ ̑̾b̳̠̝͊̂͑ͩ̉ĺ̹̼̠͔̘͎̠̆a̘ͩ̓̒̐͑̽̒č̲̲̹̙͇ͣ̑k̏ͯͫͬ̚ ̝̻̝͎͖s̞̤͈̖̽́́u̗̼̙̖̹̪̍̔̆̚i̱ͦ̂̽ͯt͕̎͌ ͚͙͎̫̀ͩ̄a͈̐n͑̏ͮ̐̉͋ḍ͉̯̬̜͖ͧ̃͂ ̗̦̪͎̩̣d̲͍͔̖̦̄ͪ͋ͤ͂ͭĩ̙̤͆ͣ̐̈s͕͇͓̗̮͓ͤ̿ͯ̈́̆ͤè̯̱̘͔ͣ͋͗m͈͔̳b͎̜̝̠̥͉͕ͭͧ̂ọ͉͖̯̤̞dͬͩͮ̑͗̆̽i̝͇̠͚̐e͔d̻̠̲ ͖̬̘̯̦̖̰̎͋ͪh̘͍͉̏͗͊ͨ͆̇ͅã͇̏͂ͤ̆n̤͈͑ͧ̐ͯ̄d̤ͭ̚s̭̼̳̱͚ͩ̊ͭ̓ͨ d̼̹̝̹͈ͯ̽r̲̠ͯ̾e̫̙̐w̫̻̰͌̈́̀̃̔ ͖̪̹̞͍͂͆̎̄ͨͅy͔̫̮̰̖ͅo̝̦̥ͮͦu̠̔rͮ̓͆̽̓ ͙̫͉͙̺̙̾ͤ̃͌e͕̮̤̳͐ͅy̝̪̞̰͚̓ͅḛͮs͎͍͙͗͐͋͛̽̚,̙̉̄ͤ̓ͫ̿̓ ̦͍͇̙̿̇ͩͨ́ḃ̞̠͎͓̪̋̈ụ̼͎̤̪t̗̘̤ ̽̄̉y̟̣̏̋̓ͥộ̩̜͈̑̏u̇ͩ͐ ̜f̟̰̦̖̣͛ͦͦ̐̄̌ͬĕ̟̤̠̗͚̳̫l̠̒̈́ͪͨͦ͐ͬt̩̠̹͇̘̥ͦ ͚͓̍s̺͍̳̩̑̈ͦ̽̈́i̤̦̰̲͓͖͖͊͛c̘̦̰̗̱̤͇ͦ͗͛͆͊k̩̩̻̯̭ͯ́͊̋͊͒ ͈͚͕͓͉̈̓ͥ͗t͙̟̳͔̐͌͗ͯͮo̖͍̊ͮͩ ̱̏̋́ͣy̺̹̠̜͍͋̑͆̑̚ọ̠ͩ̇̚̚u̇ͧ̚ṟ̜̯̤̲̿ͮ ̹s̅ͮṭ̜̼͊͛ͪ̎̈́o̰͔̠̥͖̮m̜͖̙͈̐͋̓̌a̠̠͓͂c̖̏̈́̉̓̏ḧ̘͚͔̥̜͛̓ͧͥ.̮̱̔ͩ̀̂̈́

This isn’t supposed to be happening??? What’s

“̠͔̳̜̱̣̻̜̇͝I̴̡͎̹ͣͦͫͣ̚͢ ͯͩ̒ͨ̽̽͏̝̖̜̳d̴̝̣̭̄̔͂̄͒̂ͧ́̕o̴͎ͨͨͨ͠n̸̶̪̰̬͕ͪͤ́͆̋ͨ̍̇’̶͓̟̗̖̺̱ͩ̚͜t̳͚̘͕͖̏̎͐͋ͦ͟ ̪͚̹̫̫͐͒ͫ̊ͭ̅̓ṉ̬̖̖̻͂̆ͯ̌͗͞͞ͅe̲̘͖͙̊ͧ͗̅͟e̛̤̝̮ͦͤͤ͜d͍͍̟̖̙͚͑̏͗̈̄̿̕ͅͅ ̬̰͈̈́͋͡y̴̲̙͚̣͙̝̥͊͊ͩ̕o͍̮͖͚͙̗ͮ͊ͫͫ̃̋͝͡ͅư̺̲̙̼̰̖̩͈̾̌̂̀ͩͅr̗͍̰͉͍̩ͤ͛̂̏̑͒͒ͨ ̧̦͈̭̈́́ͦ̏̚ͅp̠̝̰̓ͮͩͨ̐̚͜͞ḙ̰͔̗̙ͫ̂͛͆̌͆͂͐r̗̩̼̥ͣͣm͆́͊ͯ̽̑͒̕͟͏̭ȉ̆̑̿ͭ̀̽̎ͣ҉̤̻̝̗͢s̸̛̤̺ͤ͐̔̿ͮͩͨ̈͢s͈̩̞̞̬̤̲̜͉ͧͦ͆̔ͣ̕i̷̺̩̇̐ͤ̍̽͌o̹̠͚͍̰̝͕͇ͩ͌̿͗͒͘ň̨̥̳̭̟̟̳̻̙̓̈́̌̌ͨ͑͢ ̷̶̜͇̠̰̗̞͕͍̄ͫ̎̉̂ͤͧ̐ă̩̳̲̤͇̠̋̈́̚͜͡n̴̷̡̠̯͓̪̬̞͎̺͑ͪ̈́̂͆ͮy̢͉͖͖̲̥̦̙̾ͤͅm̤̮͓̀ͨ̆ͥ̑͠͞o̞͓̼͉̪̮̠̗ͬͨ͗̅ͮ̚ͅr̵͙̦͕̟̐̃ͩ̔̚̕͠ę͓̻̩̠͔͙̐̔ͩ͟,̵̛̯͈͖͉ͫͯ͂͋ͅ ̏ͪͦ̋͛͏͏̩̲̞̩̗͇ͅĻ̹̺̱̺̼̖̬͈̻̭̰̠͓̅͋͌ͣ̓͊͂̑̀͂̐̋̊̋ͫ̈́͛̀͘ͅͅͅą̵̵̸̣̹͉͕̻̲̫͕̫̖̙̭̅̔ͯ̎͂̎̒̔͡v͊͐ͤ̎ͣ͆̃ͣ͒̄̈́ͬͥ̿̏ͩ҉̟̹̫͇̥̠̰͈̜̬̙̥͔̙̕͜͡͠ͅe̢̛̎ͧͯ̓͊̅҉̜̳̭̹̦n̵̐ͣ̇̂̽ͥ̌͒ͦ̾̋͆̿̚̚͡҉̶̥̠̪̗͉̠̠̫̪̫̤̩͔͎̖ḑ̺͔̼̳̬̺͖̠̹̜̺ͮͥ̋̃ͥ̆̋͛̉́͜͠e̴̓̇̈́̔̾̇̆̃ͨ҉͏̲̼̟̼̗̜͈̪̱̤̺̟͟ͅr̡̒͒̽̾ͨ͌̐̿͊̃ͬ͌̆̑́̚҉̸̩̻͉̝̠̞̜̺̹̤̜̥̖̰̩̱,͚͓͇̳̱͇̺ͥ͋”̴̛͙̹͚̱͙̺ͬͯ͊̏ ̵̲͚͚̣̾ͭͭ̀̆̀̕H͎͕̣̮̪͇̃̒͋ͭ̅͌͂̾͡e͉̬̪͔̭͇̾̈̃̐ͪ̽͡ ̖̮͉͐̒̊͟͡ṡ̨̤̟̪͓͓̞̩̙͌̉ͯ̄ͨp̧̲̣͓̱̃ͫ͋͑ǫ̶͇͎̥̥̻͒͠ͅk̡̰̳̮̘̐̋͆͒͐̑̕e̶̢͔͚͚̭̹̪̯ͩ̐ ̴́ͣ̇ͮ҉̘̹͇͎͉̘̼̕a̴̺̝̹̺̱̮̻̬ͧ́̌ͫ̚͘͞n̗͉ͦͥ̋̊̀̃ͫͦ̀d̵̫̲͎͓̮͖̬̥̿̀͋́̕ ̛͕̪̻͇ͬ́t̥͖̭ͨ̃̿͛̂ͬ͑͜h̨̢̭̯̣̬͖̟͊̋̇̓ë̸̝̦͕́̆̓̇̈́͝ ̯ͧͧ̐f̜͎̯̈́͜ļ̲͕̇̿̒̊̄̇͜o̷ͥ́͏̗̟̭͖̲ͅo̦͍͙̬̦͙̰͇͋̾̆̍ͅř͎̺̼̪͍̙̥̹͉̇͂ ̡̨͇̭̥̳̿͟ş̦̫̪̇͗ͤͧ̃̂̾̄h̴̲̳͔͙̤̐̓́́͞ͅo̡͎̫̼͇͚̱̟̺͒ͣͥ̈̆̍̌͘õ̞͕̪̅̍̒̌͐̆͞͝ͅk͈̮͌͌ͥ̓͗ͧ͡,̫̦̰͍̬̹̩͙͚ͨ̽̕ ̨̜̩̗̟̼͓̀̈́̅“ͪ̂͌͊̚͏̢̨̘̞͔͕̹̻Y̴̠̺ͥͣ̄͞ͅo̷̺͕̰͙͎̬̰̟ͩ̈́̓͟͜u̶̠̲̲̥̲̺̙͖ͯͥ̾́͡ ̸̮̩͔̯͔͇̾̑͑̆̚͢͝a̙̪̰̩̜͇̠̣͐ͭ̾ͬ̑̅͒ͥ̀̚͠n̛̼̪̼̮̤̺͉̤ͨͪ̃͗͗͛̾̚d̞̩̮̭̜̲͔̦͊̅͒̃̎͊́ͬ ̡͇̝̟͍͕̄ͧĨ̶͎̼̥ͭ́ͅ ̤̥͕̲ͤͮͪ̍́a͛ͤ̐ͥ̍͟҉͚͚̩r̦̺͎͙̞̪̎̈̑͟e̵̡̞͈̠͖̼̪ͫ̍̓͛̅ͧͦ ̨̭ͮ̓ͬ̄̈̆̔ͧ̕n̨̩̱͔͔͙͉ͯ͂́̂̌̈ͧͧͪ͡o͈͉̍̽̂ͣ͆̎ͮ̆ ͎̣͍̱̘̤̖̃ͣ̂̑̌̽l̶̺̠͂̾͝o̧͉͖͍̯͔͚̐̀̀ͧ̎͊ͮ͐͝ņ̣͕͓̂̓̊̆̅ͨ͒ͮ̂g͈̰̦̱̠̰ͥͅe̮̗̹̎̉͘r̵̛͙̘̞̪̮̔̿̓́ͅ ̭̫̠͙̥͙͎̠̈́ͫi̶̜̙͈͎̪ͣ̈́̊͢͠ͅn͊ͨ̽̂ͫ͑҉͏̬͓̮̝̩͇̮̯̫͢ ̶̭̰̟̥̭͚͔̭͆̑ͥͫͪ̆t̵̴̴͓͎̺̹͙̬̋́̾̎͒ͤ̇͌ͯh̬̺̣̹ͦ̂ͦ̀ȅ͉̩̗̭͔͖̤̯̃͗́͐̔ ̪̠̀ͭ̔͡s̡̛͓͖̤̤̺̞̽ȧ͙̝̗̗̮̓̉̾̾́͢m͙̥͚̜̠̖̝͑͢͞e͓̤̤̙͇͖ͥͨ̍̒̌͝ ̹̦̑̀͒̌͌ͫ̓͐͠p͇̦̟̭͖̞̘͙̋͆͂ͧ̇̇̀͌͂́̀͠ȍ̶̧̹̮̝͕̫̯̬͕̉̂s̴̟̼̣̜͙͍̾̍̽̐̊̀͝ȋ͇̫̙͉͚̮͈̲̱̆́̿̑ͪ͌t͓̠̥͔͍͕͙̝̿̍ͬ̾ͮͧ̎ͧ̇͟i̼͇̪̳͙͎ͩ̕o̡͉͖̳̙̲͇̪̿͋̐ͪ̿͂ͧ͒́͟n̢̯̰̲͎͔̯̘̙̪̂̋ͯ͗̀́̚̚ș̖̦̎ͭ͞;̗͓̟̜̖ͩͧ̽͊̾̆͒̓͡͞ ̪̰̫̤̃̾͆́͢t̼͖̭͖͛̔̈͑h̯̜͕͓̋ͫ̈́i̻͐̎̉ͧ̔́͟s̨͕͔̯̳̜̜ͮ̌ͨ̌͛͗̒̈́ ̘͉̦͉͕̹͌̈̀̂ĭ̳̩̠͖̗̼̮̙͋́s͎̥̰̤̫͕̬͕̓̇ͤ̽ͪ͘͢͡ ̷̳̯̱̉m̛͎͔͙̙̖͎̥̓̒̽̐ͮ͝y̛̗̫̲̖̤̦̌ͮͩͪ͠ ̨͉͙̮͑̋̉̚s̨̲̮̻̬̃̈͊̏͑̄͜͢t̫̎̾ͭ̓̀̆ͩ͒͟ǫ̲͙̗͖̳̖͖ͭ̅ͨ̀̏r̫̻̘̘͚͚ͦ̍̊̊̈ẏͪͦ̂҉̮͕̗̘ ̵̧̝̹̻̪̰̰͓ͧ͑̌n̥͚̜̼͙͔̬̹͆̂͘̕͟o̩̮̤̐ͣ̿w̲̺͈͛͗̊̉̍ͮ̂̒͘͜.̛̦̞̣ͨ̔̃̑”̛̲͍̝̘͖͕͖ͯ͂̍

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“̮̤̞́ͭͬ̍̆͑̿̆S̳̖̜͈̙͙̝̭ͩ̔ͪ̌͒̀a̦̯̮͌̒ͣ͂̃̀̈́̾y̙̣̹̯͍̱̜̔̔̉̄̎ ̦̳̳̝̞̯͎͒̋ͅg͚̲̖̬̙̋̀̀o̮̣͍̺̘ͤͦ̔́o̼̭̒̅ͤ̉d̘̦̱͕̤̝̱͑͋͂͒ͮḇ̙̩͛̇ỵ̰̻̎̒ͪ̓ͯ̈́ͨ̌̓ẻ̙̻̯͖̊̋̑ͯ.̦͙͔̙̖͆ͨ͌̌́ͅ”̖́ͫ́ͣ͛̎ͮ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ERROR: Ṕ̕͠Ĺ3̴͜͢Ą͝Ş͡E͏̧ R̴̃̓͜3ͩ̍̏B̴͆̌͒̓ͯ̊͑0̇̐̒͆̓O̸̵̢͊ͬ̍̈́̀ͤT̡͑͌̈́͛̐̔ͪͩ S̩̜̲̯̳̪̀̊ͨͤͅỸ̪̦̭̳̮̩̗͛ͮ̉̌͑͒S̝̋̀̂ͣṬ͎̞͚͕͔̒̽̉ͅ3͍͉̓ͬ̏̓͑ͪ̏͊M͙̠̦̝̋ͭ̓̑ͅ 
> 
> R͊͑ͬ͏̘̯̲I̧̱̮̥̜̖͙ͩ͗ͦ̇͂̄̔͂̕͞Ņ̷̴̙͓̜̦̇ͬG̡̢̲̺͉ͧ̑͐ͣ̀ ͇̬̅̆̀ͫ̏̎ͩȀ͖̪̰̤̮̦̱̿ͥ̽̀̉ͭ͘͠R̴̶̡̳͖̲͍͐͋̓̌̂̒0̪̲̯̞̬͉̫̐̌͜͞Ṵ̩̰͉͓͗̉̎̅͆ͫͮ́͞Ṉ͆͐͛̑̅ͨ̀Ḑ͑̏̀͑̓͊͛̂̔̀͏͔͈ ̰̠̲̬̻͊͛͡͝͠T̤̙͎̠̱̀̍͐͐́ͤ̌͊́H̼͉̮̹̪̜̋ͪ̐ͥ̇͘͢Ë̝̥̗̦̉̂̾̾͒͒ ̟̍̄͡͝R̨͒̒̑ͯ͠҉͚̮Ó̡͎̬ͯͩͯͤ̉͘ͅS̡̥̥͍͉̍̃͜3̝̦͖̲̰̘̰ͦ̎̾̏͂͟ͅY̱͖̰͚͈̫ͣ̎̊,̗̘͔̫͔͉͂ͦ̓ͪ͊ͨ͋̅͘͜͝ ̡̛̻͎͈͎͙̭̹̈́ͬͮP̸͙̩̦̒͋ͥ̕[͕̝̐̃̂̐̈́]̢͕͇̪͖̽̿̈́͗ͯ̎̓ͥ͠͡Ç̵̹̬͚̒̔͂Ḳ̵͉͎͊ͮ͑͂̊̄̉ͯ̕͜E̴̡̜̯̙ͮ͆̍ͬͧ̈͋ͥ̚͡T͖̓̀ͪ͑̄ ̢̺̩͚͉̝̮͆ͨ͟Fͫ̽͘҉̠̤̟͍̘̻ͅƯ̼̙̹͊̓͆ͨͣ́Ḽ͕̝͕̞͙̜̭̅̉̒́̽̚L̿̈́̎͂ͯ҉̠͓̙͕̕ ̓̾͏̟͔̺̻̙̝̺O̷̮̙̩̹̝ͪͪͅF̧̜͈͖͉ͯͬ̓ͮ͐͌̇ ͖̠̟̌̍͢P̶̡̱͉̪̫͔̯ͬͫ͐ͪ̾̉́O̵̹͉̼̬̬̿͑ͯ̚Ŝ̱̤͓̤̜̱̦̪͠#̤͈̬͖ͥ̍ͭͣ͑͌̚̕͢Y̸̜̊̓̉  
> ́҉͖͙̮̲̮  
> ̷̧̭̩ͮͪ̌̃̂ͨ̒̿@̼̟͎͆̃̍͠S͉̜͖̩͉̟̞̯͛ͤ͋ͩ̑̇͑ͩ̊́H̼̟̹̮͇̖̪͋̾ͫͧ́́͟Ȩ̪̠̬̫͍͕̩̬͍ͧͣ͊̂ͯ͠S̼̞̺̤̭̰ͤ͐̅͐͆͐̍͋  
> ̧̯̳̥͇̖ͫͪͤͪ͋̆ͧ̄  
> ̡̩̯͍͔͉̜͍ͤ̑̽ͪ̔ͣ͋̏̀ͅA̢̩͔̹̝̫̞̦͐ͬ̃ͨ̊̀ͭ̚̕Sͮ̋̂̃̃́҉̤̱͓̩Ḩ̬͈̎ͨ̈̀͘3̨͖̤̰͐̄̓ͥ̍S̷̝͚̺͍̟̲̖̎͋ͦ  
> ͍̤͋͡ͅ  
> ̙͙͉͕̰̂͋̓ͨͦ́̚E̖͓͇͍̘͌̀V̥̖̮̼͍͖ͩ͆͋͊͊ͩͧ͟Ȩ͙̜̺̭̘͚̳͚͚̔͋̎͛̋̚R̵̡̼̲̆̊Y̶͈̝͓̯̜̰͑Ǒͥͣͩ̄͛҉̨̙N͉̗̈́ͬ̍́͟Eͤ͛̋̑͏̛͚̗̖͇͇̭̺̖ ̟̱͈̪̝͎̬̘̞̑ͤ̿́Ị̰̹̩̋̃́͝S͖͍͂͘͠ ̒̌ͣ̌̋ͣ̐͑҉̞̱̮̭͇G͇͕͕̟̳̠̺̓͒̽ͩͥ͛O̯̦̭ͦ͐ͬͯ͒́͆́͠ͅĮ̦͚̏ͩ̕Ṅ̠̙̍̓ͫ̓͂G̛͙̘̞̼̜̘̣̎͒͛̊̾ͪ͑͘ͅͅ ̳̥͍̞̤̍͋̀̊̔͊T̔̀ͬ͒͆ͅO͗̅͌͐͗̅͡҉̤̘͍̠ ̶̧͖̲͎̞̊̀̒̓̍ͫ̀D̗̩̟̱̳͚̬͉͛̏ͬ̓ͪ͑I̛͖̙͛̄Ȩ͉̺̯̜͚̥̩͛͋ͦͭ̔̃́̚


	10. REBOOT

“You’ve lost control of him,” She said quietly; despite the subject at hand, she didn’t sound accusatory, “And he wants to disrupt the flow.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore; he’s gotten too powerful. I can’t even tell what he’s doing anymore.”

She hummed quietly before answering, “Well, he still doesn’t know of my consciousness-“

“But he might guess; Gaster and Gingler already touched on it, so whatever Gaster knew, _he_ knows.”

Her faded purple hair swept to the side as her blue eyes swept the bedroom; clutter was swept into corners, but it wasn’t messy. More ‘lived-in’, than messy, she thought.

“You’ll have to name me, if I’m going to help,” She finally answered, choosing to push forward instead of stagnating.

“I-what? Well, yeah, I suppose…but, weren’t you listening? Once you start getting involved, it won’t be hard for Victer to guess-“

“Let me worry about that, honey,” She smiled, pronounced canines catching the eye, “I may have come here to obtain your help, but I have powers outside of what you’re able to do.”

“Then why did you need to come at all?”

“Because you’ll have to be ready.”

“For what?”

“For when I bring _her_ ,” The purpled-haired monsters smiled, but only for a moment. After, her eyes dropped and so did her smile, “There’s no telling what will happen after that.”

“No…but I have to trust her…and I have to trust all of them, out there,” A hand was waved toward a computer screen shining in the half-darkened room, “That’s all I can do.”

“It’s all you need to do,” She answered, her smile returning, “Well…I’ll be back, hopefully with good news.”

“Yeah, thank yo-“

The monster with purple hair and two horns was gone before the words were out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that was a strange happening...finally got access back to my story, thanks to a new stranger!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleFictionMom.tumblr.com](http://purplefictionmom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	11. The Regulator

You woke up in the middle of the throne room, but only had a hazy recollection as to why you were there.

There was a meeting…everyone was trying to discuss what to do about the fusion between Gaster and Masters…Then…

You were distracted by the noises of others waking in the room.

“Wh-what…” Alphys was the first to vocalize and you moved to check on the others.

Sans was snoring quietly, so you ignored the small smile that tried to make its way onto your face and saw the Lyris and Papyrus laying together, Papyrus still holding Lyris tightly. You moved closer and touched Lyris’s shoulder.

“Lyris,” You said soothingly, “Lyris, wake up; are you alright?”

The monster stirred and groaned, “Hmm…? I…I think so…what happened?”

“I don’t remember,” You shook your head before moving back to Sans to try and wake him.

You nearly jumped when you saw his eyes were open and he was staring at the ceiling.

“Sans,” You breathed, touching your chest before reaching down to touch his shoulder, “Sans, what-“

You jumped when his hand came up to grab yours tightly, stopping you from touching his shoulder, but his eyes didn’t waver.

“where’s frisk?”

“I-what?”

You glanced around, despite your confusion. Frisk? Had they been up here too? You tried to remember, but all that was clear in your head was something like static from a TV. There was the discussion about fusions, and…

Flowey; you remember Flowey was here, so Frisk must have-

Except, Frisk wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

There was Flowey, his pot overturned and some of his dirt spilling out; he was cursing and demanding someone flip him upright and Alphys was finally giving in as you glanced around the throne room. You stood, trying to make sure you could see all corners of the room.

“Frisk?” You called out, afraid there wasn’t going to be an answer, “Frisk, where are you?”

Sans finally sat up, his own eyes searching the room. The others slowly stopped their small talk and movements to watch you as you slowly began to circle the room, your voice growing in volume and intensity.

“Frisk you answer me right now!”

“What’s happening?” Asgore felt the only kind of fear a parent could feel for a missing child, “Where has the child gone?”

Sans clenched his jaw as he answered, “i don’t know, but i have a guess…”

His meaning wasn’t lost on any of them.

“We have to find Frisk,” Lyris stood quickly.

“Inform the Underground,” Asgore stood at his full height, his voice filling the room, “Everyone is to search every corner for Frisk.”

Sans knew it wouldn’t do any good, but let them continue anyway. He moved to your side as you stood by the throne, one hand holding it tightly, trying to make it ground you in reality.

“They’re not here, Sans,” You didn’t turn to face him, your eyes trained on the wall, with all its intricate designs and patterns, trying to use that to distract yourself from the truth you were now admitting to Sans, “I know—I don’t know how, but I _know_ \--that Frisk isn’t in the Underground anymore…”

Sans hated himself for not being able to disagree, “…i know, sweetheart.”

You turned your face to look at the shorter skeleton and he could see the wall of tears in your eyes, refusing to fall just yet.

“What kind of a guardian am I,” Your voice cracked and broke every chance it could, “This is the second time I-“

You couldn’t hold it together and the tears began to race down your face, as if there was a prize for falling first. A sob escaped your mouth and you had to lean into the throne to keep yourself from falling to your knees; your free hand came up to cover your mouth as you cried into it, sobbing quietly.

Sans felt his monster soul break for you as he reached out and pulled you against him, sitting on the ground to pull you into his boney lap.

“sweetheart…” He didn’t know if he had any words to comfort, but he had to try, right? Except, no words would come and he was left with nothing but the silence and your broken sobs.

~*~

It felt like years passed, and still the monsters of the Underground searched. Despite being able to walk from Snowdin to New Home and back in less than 2 hours, there were many nooks and crannies that a child like Frisk could sneak into to hide.

But why would they? You leaned deeper into Sans’s hold, even as you watched Asgore conduct his business with Monsters and Humans alike. Still no word.

It was less than a day ago that Frisk disappeared and now you waited anxiously, hoping, praying to any unseen god that Frisk was okay and that the horrible revelation that was waiting in your stomach was nothing more than a guardian’s anxious nerves…

A monster spoke to Asgore and you saw the way the larger monster’s shoulders dropped—not a lot, but it still had its effect. You felt tears enter your eyes again, even as Asgore started to make his way toward you and Sans.

“The Underground has been sweeped and Frisk is nowhere to be found…” Asgore’s deep rumble was stilted, and the wall of tears that was mirrored in your own eyes, “And there is still no word from the Agents…”

Your stomach disappeared, and the revelation hit you harder, despite having seen it coming.

You shook your head, “No…Frisk was taken by Victer, I just…I can just _feel_ it.”

A sob interrupted your next words and Sans continued, “there’s no tellin what’s goin on in his head; we have to figure out where he’s taken frisk.”

“This we understand,” Asgore nodded in agreement, “It is a wide world on the Surface, but we will continue to hope.”

You shook your head, frustrated, “We don’t need hope! We need _results!_ ”

In your frustration, you yanked away from Sans and started for the doorway, the one that lead toward the Surface. You needed fresh air, a moment of quiet to think, to cry, to do _something_ other than sit around and wait for some false hope and st-

You froze as you passed through the first doorway to the alcove and hallway. There were two human entering from the Surface, both of whom mirrored your surprise when they saw you.

Sans bumped into you, since he followed you to keep you from doing something foolish, but when he peaked around you, his eye sockets narrowed.

You recognized one of the humans; it was Zach, Jacobs’s younger partner. This time he was in casualwear, with cargo shorts that reached below his knees and a t-shirt with some obscure band you had never heard of. The other human wore a button down shirt, tie and slacks. His tie was hanging around his neck, untied; his top two buttons were undone to reveal the white undershirt and his sleeves were rolled to his elbows.

There was a beat of silence before Asgore appeared behind you and Sans, “…Zach? What are you doing here? Who is this?”

You took a short breath before turned to one side to wipe your face of tears as the rest of them talked.

“Ah…Well, this is Dr. Brahn, and well…we…um…” Zach fidgeted nervously, glancing around as if looking for help.

“I brought them here.”

The voice was so clear, it felt as if someone had said it directly next to your ear. Your head snapped up and you turned to a corner of the alcove to find a new—monster? Human?—leaning against one of the walls, her purple hair swept to one side.

She looked completely human, save for the two ram-like horns that sprang from her head and the unnatural color of her hair. Her skin was tanned, as if she spent a summer in the sun and her eyes were a bright blue, watching all of the other occupants of the room with her arms crossed and an amused smile on her lips. Her hair was a vibrant bright purple, with its ends darkening to a plum color as it swept around one horn. The right side of her head was shaved nearly bald, but its brown color caught your eyes even as you tried to puzzle together just how she could have gotten there; you hadn’t seen her when you first entered.

Asgore and Sans seemed to be just as surprised, as Asgore said, “I…Howdy; I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before…”

By his voice, you could tell it wasn’t a monster he recognized.

So…a human, then…? But with those horns….

“My name is Regalia,” She said, smiling as if pleased, “And I’m here to help set this mess straight again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, lovelies!
> 
> I'm sorry this update took longer than expected; I moved out of my mom's house into a 1-bedroom apartment and it took a lot of energy out of me! So, hopefully things will start moving a little smoother from here on out. I'm slowly but surely making my way to the end of this story, even if it kills me haha.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated ( ~~read: Please validate me :D~~ ), and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleFictionMom.tumblr.com](http://purplefictionmom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	12. The Way Things Are

Despite your frantic need to find Frisk, and the urgent nature that was stirred up in your chest, you allowed yourself to be lead with a group of monsters and the two other humans through a door that you had never seen before and down a hallway.

The door was behind what seemed like a wall of creeping vines in the throne room, and when you glanced up at Asgore, he sheepishly smiled and only said, “I haven’t the heart to cut such lovely plants when I can just as easily move through them.”

No one else seemed curious, so you swallowed and moved into the long hallway.

It wasn’t dark, by any means; magical fire floated just above your head near the walls and reminded you of when the entire Resistance escaped through the tunnel from your basement.

You nearly stopped walking; how long ago was that? It felt like years. Or lifetimes.

“With everything you’ve been through, it’s no wonder you feel like you’ve live multiple lives.”

You jumped, turning to see who was now speaking from your right.

Regalia had moved to walk next to you silently—or, at least, you thought she had; the truth was, you hadn’t noticed her at all—and despite her appearance, seemed at home in the halls. She walked with a relaxed ease that nearly made you jealous.

“I…I’m sorry?” You swallowed, your eyes moving from the horns on top of her head, to her multi-shaded purple hair, then down to her choice of clothes—which consisted of an unzipped hoodie, jean shorts and a plain black t-shirt—before your eyes darted up to meet her gaze.

“Sorry, its sometimes a little hard to discern what’s said out loud and what’s not,” She looked like she wanted to laugh, but you didn’t really find anything funny in the situation; you weren’t sure when she first spoke, but now you were catching on a little. She had answered your thoughts—about how long ago it felt since you were in your own home; or, at least, your sister’s home.

“Is that your monster ability, then?” You asked quietly; you saw her eyes dart down to your mouth before she answered.

“Well, yes and no,” She shrugged, “I’m not actually a monster.”

Your eyes darted up to her horns again.

Before you could ask, she answered you again, “Yeah, I know what it looks like; but I promise, I’m telling the truth.”

“So what are you then? Human?” If she said yes, you were sure you’d turn around now and head for the exit again; Frisk was in danger and it felt-

“As if we’re doing nothing,” Regalia nodded her head, “I know how it feels, sweets, but don’t worry; I promise I’m here to set things straight.”

Before you could ask, _Put_ what _straight?_ , Asgore turned to one side of the hallway and you noticed that Regalia was the first to walk through the door, even though you were near the back of the group with Sans.

You turned to your right in time to see the fading—and winking—image of Regalia. It was like a hazy mirage finally disappearing once you got close enough; perceptible, but a trick of the eyes all the same.

“you’ve been quite for a while,” Sans suddenly said out of the blue, making you jump and turn to look at him.

He was stopped a few steps behind you, letting the rest of the group enter the room Asgore had opened, but made no move to enter as he watched you carefully.

“you gunna be ok, sweetheart?”

“I-“ 

_Were_ you going to be ok? You didn’t know what to think or do anymore and now with Regalia-

You took a deep breath and nodded, “There’s nothing to do, but move forward; we have to find Frisk.”

Sans nodded, but looked like he wanted to say more. Before he could, Asgore was at the door sheepishly looking between the two of you.

“We—that is, I—don’t want to begin this meeting without the two of you,” He sounded apologetic and glanced from you to Sans and then back again.

“We’re coming,” You said, reaching out to touch Sans’s elbow; part of it was to reassure him, part of it was to reassure yourself, “Sorry.”

Asgore nodded, and held the door open for the two of you.

The room that Asgore had led the group to was a meeting room of sorts. At one end, two dusty and unused thrones sat, overseeing the rest of the room. Under their gaze, a long table with many old chairs sat, a few of them filled now with monsters and the two other humans. Regalia was walking around the room, looking with some curiosity at the décor and then the two thrones.

You took a deep, quiet breath and moved deeper into the room.

Asgore easily took charge once the door was closed.

“What brings the two of you here, Zach?”

It was easy to remember Zach was young when you saw the uneasy and shy look that crossed his face when every eye turned to watch for his response.

“Ah…well, it was Dr. Brahn’s idea,” He made a vague motion with his hand toward the older man sitting next to him.

“Yes, I wanted to be brought here,” Dr. Brahn cleared his throat, looking around nervously before he continued, “I…I’m not sure if any of you recognize my name, or would even know who I am, but I-“

You had a vague sense that you were looking at a man who was standing at the edge of a very long drop, one that he knew he probably wouldn’t survive, but knew all the same that he had to take the plunge. You nearly got chills when you saw him take in a deep steadying breath and you nearly leaned forward to steady him when he swayed, until he spoke.

“I’m the Head of the Department of Monster Liasons,” He finally said, “I’m the one who’s currently holding the bag with how Monsters are seen and treated.”

There was a pause as the room absorbed what he said. You immediately felt your stomach plunge toward your knees and you had the chance to see the recognition slowly rise in each monster’s face.

“You-“ Alphys uncharacteristically was the one to break the silence before her lips pressed together and she sank into her chair.

You felt Sans shift next to you and you instinctively moved to gently hold his elbow. You weren’t sure what—if anything—Sans would do, but he was the only one you had any ability to stop, should the worst happen.

Asgore quickly answered, his back so straight you felt your spine ache in protest, “How long has your government known that we have been here?”

The temperature in the room was icy, and you swallowed. Your own feelings were mixed and mottled. Despite the position he held, you had recognized the name because it was all over the paperwork you had been given in regard to Frisk. As far as you (or your agent, the closest thing you had to a lawyer) could piece together, it was Francis Brahn who had actually pushed and expedited Frisk’s placement in your care.

Dr. Brahn stuttered, “I—I mean, we—had no idea; those above me still have no idea. Miss Regalia was the one to mention it to me.”

The whole room stole glances toward the strange being who was still examining the room, but was now feeling the fabric of one of the curtains between her fingers; she gave no indication that her name had been said, or that anyone had said anything incriminating about her.

Asgore’s eyes stayed on her the longest, but when she didn’t move to look back, he finally settled his gaze on Dr. Brahn again.

“So, why have you come here?” Asgore’s deep rumble almost seemed to echo through the room and you wondered if that had been a purposeful design choice.

Dr. Brahn looked ready to cut and run, being stared down by the King of Monsters, but Zach was the one to answer for him.

“Cut the guy some slack, he came to negotiate!” Zach didn’t seem any more comfortable than Dr. Brahn, but perhaps it was the familiarity between Zach and Asgore that moved the youth to speak; even with that between them, you saw the way his face flushed with uncertainty when Asgore’s gaze leveled with him.

“The last time negotiations were to be had,” Asgore said darkly, “My people ended up in chains, and were the victims of unspeakable horrors.”

You didn’t blame Asgore for his anger, but you wondered at it all the same. Isn’t this the flicker of hope that all of Monster-kind had been looking for? A peaceful life, free from slavery?

Dr. Brahn seemed to be trembling, but you admired the way he forced himself to speak, “M-my predecessor had some cruel ideas, no doubt! I wasn’t even in government work when those laws passed!”

A few monsters winced at the way the doctor seemed to whine in the back of his throat, and you saw a darker emotion pass over Asgore’s face.

“The responsibility is still yours to bear,” Asgore was growling now, his cloak parting to reveal the armor you knew he always wore, but never showed, “My people are still suffering at your hands; nothing has been done to protect those still in chains!”

Your blood ran cold and you were convinced you were about to see why Asgore was a King to be admired…and feared.

The room was thick with the sound of his growl and the way the hair on your arms stood up, you knew Asgore’s power was rising with the sound. Were you about to see someone die? Killed by magic? Could you stand by and watch that? Would you?

Your breath hitched in your throat and you wanted to stop forward, say _something_ , but your body wouldn’t move, your mind buzzing with what you could even try to do—each idea being discarded as quickly as you thought of it.

Zach moved back from the table and Dr. Brahn was now standing alone against Asgore’s heated gaze.

This was it; it was going to happen and you couldn’t stop it.

“Asgore, you still regret the last time you acted out from this kind of anger it to this day.”

It was a simple statement, but the effect was almost instantaneous. The calm tone and gentle words wrapped around the room like a flood of quiet and before you knew what was happening, Asgore was sitting at the head of the table, his head bowed and his frame shaking.

You saw Regalia at his side, one hand gently on his shoulder and it was almost as if you could see energy passing from her to him. His anger soothed by a balm, even if the emotions still left him quacking in their wake.

A save of dizziness told you that you had stopped breathing and you took a deep breath and tried to steady yourself before you gave up and sank uneasily into the nearest chair. Dr. Brahn mirrored your action, but he nearly fell into the chair, his body trembling hard enough that you thought you could feel it through the floor.

Zach was leaning against the wall now, looking between Dr. Brahn and Asgore owlishly. He didn’t seem to grasp that it was over, just like that, and looked around the room for validation. You looked too, but you weren’t sure what you were hoping to see.

Alphys looked nervous and had shrank deep into her chair; Inker watched Asgore intently, though her eyes continually shifted to Regalia, narrowing in suspicion when the woman glanced up to meet the small bat monster’s eyes. Flowey—who had been carried by Alphys—silently watched the doctor before his face turned to you and blanched when he saw you watching him. Sans was staring at the table, standing behind you. You couldn’t get a sense of his emotions, but the lights of his eyes were gone, leaving the dark void that seemed to trap you for a moment. That usually meant he was upset, but even now, you could see the way his jaw clenched and unclenched; anger, then.

The others looked struck or uncomfortable, but you just took a deep breath and turned back to Dr. Brahn.

“Why did you come here?” You finally asked, breaking the uneasy silence and ignoring the attention turned on you as a result.

Dr. Brahn looked away from you as quickly as he caught your eyes. You got the vague sense that he was uncomfortable talking to you—maybe even more so than talking to Asgore—but couldn’t bring himself to quake the same way he had when faced with Asgore.

“The…the fact is,” Dr. Brahn said, “There’s been a big change trying to brew up among people about the situation with Monsters-“

“You mean their enslavement,” You said it quietly, and Dr. Brahn nearly didn’t pause to acknowledge it.

Instead, he took in a short breath and nodded, “Yes, their enslavement—and now that things have settled since Victor Masters has disappeared, and with the circumstances surrounding it…”

“just what are you tryin’ ta say, doc?” Sans’s tone was even enough, though you were probably the only one close enough to hear the way his bones rattled at the end of his question.

Dr. Brahn glanced around, perhaps realizing he’d been starting to ramble, before he took another breath.

“Ahem, what I’m trying to get at is,” He glanced at Regalia, but her attentions were still on soothing Asgore, “I’ve been put in a sort of position to try and smooth things over since that fiasco went down.”

“Smooth things?”

“Yes,” Dr. Brahn pulled his glasses off and wiped them clean, though you could still see a slight shake in the way his fingers held them, “You see, Master Technologies was contracted by the government for a few different things concerning Monsters and since his daughter has taken over, she’s been—ah, well, no other way to say it—airing her father’s dirty laundry and by extension, the government’s.”

You felt a stab in your chest, but the burning question in your throat was asked by Sans instead.

“you tryin’ ta tell me that your government was _payin’_ that bastard to experiment on monsters?” There was a dangerous edge to his voice that made you turn your body slightly so you could reach back and put a hand on his thigh—the only thing you could discreetly reach from this angle—but Sans didn’t seem comforted in the slightest. And why would he be? Papyrus was a near-casualty of the whole things.

Even as Dr. Brahn opened his mouth to answer, Regalia’s voice drew the room’s attention.

“I know none of you are going to like this, but if you want a chance at peace—whatever that means to any of you—you’ll have to at least hear Dr. Brahn out.”

Sans’s voice bit back at her, “and just what would you know about it?”

“Oh, more than you, probably,” Regalia placed her hands on her hips, but in a relaxed and comfortable way, rather than an aggressive stance, “I can’t make any of you make the right decision, but I do know how it’ll turn out whichever choice you pick and listening to Dr. Brahn is the first step toward this group’s ‘good’ ending, if you catch my drift.”

Whether you did or not, Sans seemed to gain a sense of understanding; his eyes widened and the pin-pricks of light reappeared in his eyes as he watched Regalia closely. You pressed your lips together and shook your head.

“Alright, but how is any of this supposed to help bring Frisk back?”

“I knew you’d be worried about that,” Regalia nodded without answering your question, before she looked at Dr. Brahn, “I know you’ve received a scare, but you’re still willing, yes?”

“Wha-Oh, yes!”

You wanted to get angry, but your voice only sounded tired and exasperated, “Just what are you talking about?”

“Well, you’ll see, won’t you?” Regalia answered, her eyes dim, but sparkling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a little loner than I thought it would, but hopefully this is going to start up the drama again! Tell me what you guys think.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleFictionMom.tumblr.com](http://purplefictionmom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	13. A Few Answers

“Before we implement any of this,” Asgore looked like he had aged a few decades by the time he and Dr. Brahn had finished laying down terms and negotiations, “I must speak with the head of my Royal Guard—Undyne.”

It was only then that you realized that the fish monster had been totally silent—and only then that you realized the reason was because she wasn’t in the meeting room at all.

Your eyes traveled over to Alphys, but the small monster refused to meet anyone’s eyes, and there were a fair few because of Undyne being her girlfriend. Though, the way Alphys’s shoulders started to tremble…

“We’ll go see her.”

You started when you felt someone’s hand on your shoulder. Regalia wasn’t looking at you though; her hand squeezed your shoulder gently, but her eyes were on Asgore. Sans shifted next to you and you caught his eye. He didn’t look like he liked that idea in the slightest.

Asgore hesitated as well, “I’m sorry, miss, but I’m still not sure how you fit into all of this…”

The rest of the room glanced at each other, seeming the same question on all of their minds as well.

Regalia laughed, a calming and altogether musical cascade that left her throat, “Oh, I guess I forgot about that part; I told you my name, but not who I am, I guess.”

She was so carefree in this situation, it made you shift uncomfortably.

“I am the Void,” She said easily, “Or, if you prefer: I am the Keeper of the Universes.”

If you had not been watching Sans, you would have missed the way his eyes went black, and the tense of his entire body. But no one else in the room seemed to understand what exactly Regalia meant.

“Its not important enough to concern yourselves with my titles,” Regalia went on, “But just know that this whole situation has gotten pretty grim and it needs my help to set it on any sort of straight course again.”

The room was still silent and gaping at her, but she didn’t seem to notice or mind.

“Well? You and me have to find Undyne,” Regalia bubbled gently easing me from my chair and directing me toward the door.

“wait-“ You heard Sans stand from the table, but Regalia had already shut the door behind you both.

The smile that played on her lips was mischievous and playful, but when you opened your mouth to try and speak to her, she pressed a finger to your mouth and spoke.

“Three…two….one-“

Even as she spoke the final number, Sans was suddenly in the hallway with you both, standing ahead of your path to stop your steps.

“okay, hold on a minute,” Sans’s eyes were on Regalia, but he glanced over at you as if checking on you, “there’s a few things you’re gunna have to explain before i trust you with my ghoulfriend.”

His protectiveness lit a small warmth in your chest, but Regalia was already speaking.

“I knew you’d follow,” Regalia was still smiling, “And sure, you can follow us a pace if you have questions, but it’d be pretty dangerous for a monster with 1HP to follow us all the way.”

You turned your head quickly, “What are you-“

“threatening me, huh?” Sans’s voice got darker and you swallowed.

“Not at all,” Regalia shrugged, “I’m just stating a fact.”

“fact, that sounds rich for someone claiming to be the ‘void’.”

Something made you open your mouth, “Sans, wait; I…I think we should listen to her. She hasn’t given us a reason to think she’s lying…yet.”

Regalia laughed quietly, “Thanks, but we both know you’re hoping I’ll hurry up and get to the point where I tell you how to save Frisk.”

You felt something like ice slip into your stomach, but pressed your lips together. As much as she seemed to know, she would probably be able to tell if you were lying.

Sans glanced between the two of you, unsure and seemingly on edge.

“C’mon, skeleboy,” Regalia smiled brightly, “There’s not really anything you could do to me, anyway, so why don’t you ask those burning questions and at least walk away with some answers?”

Sans didn’t seem to like Regalia’s words the least bit, “you’re not exactly inspiring a lot of confidence.”

Regalia waved her had as if waving away smoke as she answered, “I normally don’t get involved; I suppose my people skills could be better, but we don’t have the time to be worrying about your ill-founded mistrust.”

You raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think its ill-founded.”

The smile on Regalia’s face seemed to fall for a moment, her eyes slowly drifting to you, before she nodded, “Well, I suppose if you’re confused I’ll have to fix that.”

Sans’s eyes narrowed a bit, “sudden change of heart?”

“Well, no offense,” Regalia caught his eye with her own, “But its apart of your character arc to constantly be questioning things without getting many answers. That frustration is what drives you past your accepted level of laziness and usually what gets you moving.”

If Sans was offended, you didn’t notice—mostly because you were offended for him.

“That was uncalled for,” You turned to face her; your arms crossed and your body tense.

Regalia glanced between Sans and you for a moment before she raised her eyes to the ceiling, seeming to see someone that you couldn’t, “You know, this would move a little more quickly if you forced this along…”

You glanced up, blinking slowly as you tried to see what Regalia was looking at, but the ceiling was empty save for a few cobwebs.

Whoever Regalia was speaking to didn’t seem to be answering, because her shoulders drooped a little and her head shook slowly.

“Alright, alright,” She motioned for you to follow as she started toward Sans, “I’ll explain, but we _really_ must talk while we walk; time is running short.”

Sans didn’t seem like he really cared for this compromise, but settled his walking between you and Regalia almost protectively. You found it sweet, but you only showed your gratitude by holding his hand, while your eyes kept glancing over his head to Regalia.

“Alright, first question,” Regalia held the overgrown vines to one side while you and Sans passed through.

“what do you mean that you’re the ‘void’?” Sans immediately asked.

Regalia laughed, clear and without any darker intentions, “Such a deep question? Not even going to start small, are you Sans?”

Sans shrugged, “nah, rather than going through a small _skele_ ton of questions, lets go big or go home.”

You couldn’t stop the smile that picked up the corners of your mouth and Regalia gave a full laugh.

“Clever pun,” She finally praised, “That’s something I’ve always appreciated about you Sans—no matter which version of you I find, nearly all of them have kept that same humor.”

“Version?” You blinked slowly.

Sans didn’t seem as lost as you, but he still looked up at Regalia expectantly.

“Don’t worry,” Regalia said, her eyes focused ahead while the three of you climbed down the stairs that would eventually lead your group to the Judgment Hall, “Both of your questions are related, in a way.”

You both waited quietly while the woman took a breath.

“That theoretical place that you know exists, but can’t prove?” That question seemed to be directed toward Sans, “That’s the void—or more accurately, me.”

You were immediately lost, but Sans shook his head, “how can you be both the void and the person walking next to me? that’s _void_ of logic.”

Regalia smiled, but kept talking, “This is simply an avatar I’ve chosen to use while I help this timeline straighten back out.”

“Avatar,” You slipped into the Judgment Hall, your eyes glancing around to take it in before focusing on Regalia again, “Like in a game?”

Regalia’s smile widened so far, your own cheeks seemed to hurt, “Oh, if only you knew. Yes, something like a video game.”

You glanced at Sans, “You’ve mentioned timelines before.”

Sans nodded, “Yeah…Alphys, my dad, and me—we all were able to detect traces of other worlds that were much like our own, but we could only see the data that they _existed_ , not what they contained or anything…we just kind of assumed the multiverse theory and moved on.”

“Well, you were close enough,” Regalia nodded, “Every timeline that currently exists started because of a ‘Catalyst’; an event, person or item that makes it substantially different from other timelines, enough so that they will never converge again.”

You were lost again, “Wait, how is that?”

Regalia glanced at you sympathetically, “Sorry, this might be a little over your head—do you know what the Multiverse Theory is?”

“Well,” You searched your head for any old information you had gotten from high school, “I think so—isn’t it the idea that every choice you make creates a new future, one for each outcome of your choice?”

“Spot on!” Regalia praised, “An easy example is ‘the breakfast’; this morning, you had a choice to eat cereal, to cook, or to not eat at all: in the multiverse theory, you did all three, but there are now three different ‘you’s that have to live through that choice to the end.”

You nodded, following.

“Now, the idea of convergence,” Regalia continued, “Is a sort of extension of the Multiverse Theory; it basically means that small decisions—such as my example of what you had for breakfast—is such a small decision, that while you did create three branches, because they don’t effect the rest of the Main Timeline proper, that is to say, what you had for breakfast doesn’t affect the fact that I was going to take you with me to go pick up Undyne. So, in order to maintain balance and order, the three split timeline comes back together to form the main timeline again.”

You felt a little dizzy, but you thought you were still following, “So, its only something really big that can permanently split a timeline?”

“Bingo!” Regalia clapped, praising you, “And those ‘big’ things are called Catalysts.”

You nodded, “Okay…I think I understand…but what does that have to do with you being the void?”

“The void is spaces between all timelines,” Regalia stated, “The thing that holds it all together and keeps the order.”

“but that doesn’t explain how the void is actually a conscious thing,” Sans shoved his hands into his pockets, “it doesn’t make sense that you are both a ‘void’ and still not void of, well, ‘you’.”

“Hmm…” Regalia thought for a moment, “Honestly, I don’t know when I first started to think on my own. I can always remember seeing the timelines and watching how they progressed; I can remember everyone who has ever fallen into me.”

She shrugged as if dismissing it before she finally said, “What I do know is that every once in a while, a timeline will get…messed up; and I’ve appointed it as my job to set them straight again.”

“If it gets messed up, isn’t that just the choice of someone?” You asked curiously.

“No, that’s different,” Regalia stopped at the far end of the Judgment Hall and looked back into the grandness of it, “A choice would split the timeline and that would be settled; the problem now is that the Catalyst of this timeline is having to compete with another Catalyst; one that isn’t supposed to be here.”

You blinked, Regalia’s eyes rounding on you, “I’ve never seen two Catalysts in the same timeline without the whole of that timeline being destroyed. It happens every time.”

Sans caught on a little quicker than you, “the fusion of my dad and victor-“

“Right,” Regalia nodded, “That’s the second Catalyst, but the timeline hasn’t split because he wasn’t supposed to exist.”

You opened your mouth, but stopped when Regalia held up her hand. She waited just long enough for the author to stop and begin a new chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!! As you've read, there are a few complex ideas I introduce here and I was trying to find a simple way to explain it. No idea if I succeeded, lol
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleFictionMom.tumblr.com](http://purplefictionmom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	14. Undyne's Soliloquy

You blinked when Regalia lowered her hand immediately and motioned for you to continue.

“Umm…ok,” You shook yourself and started again, “Why wasn’t the fusion supposed to exist?”

“Because he was created in the void.”

Sans actually started, “my dad was really in the void?”

His voice sounded as if he couldn’t catch his breath and you gently laid a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

Regalia nodded, “Yes; there have been many Gasters that have fallen into me. They don’t seem to be able to see each other, or even interact, but they are there.”

"but why haven't you put them back?" Sans stopped walking, forcing you and Regalia to follow suit, "what if they're the catalysts and-"

"Sans," Regalia interupted him, "I know you miss your father terribly and you want him back--no amount of your anger toward him for disappearing seems to hold up against the idea that you could have him back in your and Papyrus's lives--but what happened with your father, with almost every Gaster, was a direct result of his own choices. And I'm sorry to say, I can't do anything to force anyone's will--even if I wanted to, it just doesn't work that way."

The only reason you could tell Sans was upset by Regalia's words was because of how tightly he held your hand now, "but what about putting them back after? I'm sure their 'free-choice' after they ended up in the void would be to return to their timelines!"

His hand was trembling around yours and you covered it with your free hand; it made him jump a little, but his eyes were still focused accusingly at Regalia, who only looked back in--what you thought--was sad disappointment, like a teacher who was failing at making her students understand something.

"Sans," She took a deep breath, her eyes slowly taking in your surroundings; Hotland was always 20 degrees hotter than was comfortable for you, but the heat couldn't touch the cold chill in your stomach as you glanced between Regalia and Sans, "I couldn't ever explain to you how fragile every timeline actually is. There isn't an equivalant that you could wrap your head around."

"But understand this much," Regalia continued, "If I forced every Gaster back into their timelines willy-nilly, then I would put every timeline in the same crisis that this timeline is currently dealing with. If any of those Gaster's tried to force their way against a Catalyst, or god forbid, became a Catalyst just by their nature after spending any amount of time in the void, then that timeline would be as good as lost."

Just judging based on how Sans froze, you could tell he knew that Regalia was right, but he didn't want to hear that.

"Sans," You quietly said, and put your hand at the base of his neck, where his shoulder met his spine, "I know you want to help your dad, but I really think she wants to help--no matter what strange ways she wants to use."

"Ouch," Regalia said quietly, but smiled sheepishly when you and Sans glanced at her, "Sorry--please continue your warm moment."

Despite the moment being effectively dead, you still kissed Sans's temple and you felt him relax a little from the contact. The short skeleton made a non-commital noise, but when he didn't demand anymore answers from Regalia, she turned and continued to lead the two of you toward Waterfall.

There was silence as you felt the temperature drop, but the humidity spike. Still, your thoughts were buzzing so quickly that you thought you'd start to feel dizzy--and you had to ask more questions.

"So...what happened? Did you just know something was wrong with our timeline, or...?" You watched the woman's back as the three of you continued to walk.

"Anything that happens in me--in my Void--is instantly known by me," She answered easily, her hand reaching out to touch the first evidence of plant life that started to appear on the walls and ont he ground; you could hear the smile that appeared on her face as she kept talking, "When Gaster forcibly ripped Victor's soul into me, I felt that; and I felt it when he absorbed the soul and ripped both himself and his companion back into this timeline."

"his companion?" Sans immediately asked.

Regalia turned and walked backwards--the smile was still on her lips, though she still spoke in serious tones, "This timeline has always been unique in that its 'walls' have always been particularly thin between the void and the occupants of this timeline--incidently, your Gaster fell into the void almost an entire year faster than any other version of himself--at least the versions of himself where you reached adulthood before he disappeared."

Your head was starting to spin again.

"That being said, I think you and your father have gleaned a little more...hmm, lets call it an 'instinctual' understanding of me than any other version of yourselves, so imagine my surprise when I realized not only was your father calling for help from other timelines, he actually was able to tap into enough of my power to bring those souls to himself in the void."

"Lyris," You suddenly sucked in a breath, "She's from another timeline--oh, but she was in the penthouse before Masters disappeared, right?"

"There was another person with Gaster," Regalia nodded slowly, "A person from a timeline where Monsters never escaped the mountain, because Frisk never fell into it."

You really did feel dizzy again, and found you coudln't focus on the river that was running next to the path without feeling motion sick. Everything was moving so fast, and there was just so much information being presented to you...how could you be ok? Except, even as the information swirled in your head, you found that now that you at least knew there was something...more out there, beyond the scope of your own life and such, and now that you had some quiet to absorb it all, the dizziness faded and things just started to click, just a little.

"Alright, here's where we should part ways," Regalia said, focusing on Sans, "After this, its gunna get pretty dangerous for you, Sans."

Sans shoved his hands into his pockets, "no offence, but i still don't really trust you."

"Suit yourself," Regalia shrugged; the timeline had to proceed--she could only interfere if she thought it was going to derail, but the personal choices of the inhabitants was still their own.

You might have imagined Sans being please with himself, but the three of you were already walking toward Undyne's house in the middle of Waterfall.

The walk was mostly quiet as you tried to absorb eveyruthing that Regalia had explained, but it was just then that you realized how long it had been since you had actually seen Undyne. The last time...was right after everything that had happened when you were grabbed.

You though then that Undyne didn't look herself, but you had been busy with Frisk, Flowey and all the other things you had buried yourself in. Guilt ebbed into your heart as you realized avoiding your own problems had resulted in you unintentiaonally avoiding everyone except Sans, Frisk, and Lyris.

"Don't dwell on it too long," Regalia soothed quietly and touched your shoulder gently, "To be fair, there's no shame in trying to handle your own problems first."

"Even if you neglect the ones who need you?" You tilted your head.

"All we can do is the best we can," Regalia said queitly, "Anything more, and we risk losing everything."

"how's that?" Sans bumped into you, and it was enough for you to feel his attention and care, even as he spoke to Regalia.

"Do you think you could have kept working with Alphys and still taken care of Papyrus?"

Sans hesitated, but that seemed to be answer enough as the three of you turned around the bend that lead to Undyne's house.

You fell a little behind Sans and Regalia while walking through the yard. The ground was distrubed, but in a strange way. It set you on edge to see the house--a window was broken and it looked like soemthing exploded from the inside.

"Undyne?" You knocked on the door, "Undyne, Asgore needs you...are you okay?"

Worry and fear grew in your stomache as silence greeted your group; you didn't miss the resigned look on Regalia's face.

"Undyne, please answer!" You knocked on the door again, but jumped when it opened seemingly on its own.

It was dark inside, though you could still see a few lights on--were some bulbs burned out?

The shattered bult in the ceiling made you think twice.

"Undyne?"You tried not to sound frantic, but the idea that Victer might have stopped here while no one was watching out for the fish monster made your stomach turn unpleasantly.

You halted your forward push as you saw a lump of flesh curled into the corner near the fridge. In the dark--the light coming from outside was weak in the best of times, but now it almost seemed nonexistant--you almost didn't see Undyne, until she started to unfurld herself.

"...Undyne...?" You squinted in the darkness, your step measured and hesitant.

"Be careful," Regalia suddenly said; her voice was tighter than a tripwire.

You almost protested--this was Undyne, after all; she was a close friend, not to mention possibly hurt--but a sudden wave of something like vertigo, or your stomach plunging into ice, made you physically flinch.

When you turned back to look at Undyne, you suddenly felt very small.

Undyne hunched in on herself, and the way she listed to one side made you wonder if she was going to fall over. There was a dull gleam in the dark coming from her eye and you swallowed-

_-they arrived, too later. You needed them days ago, but where were they? Now, all that was left of you was your anger, your bitterness, your aching sense of betrayal. Alphys gave up on you, and it was only now--now that Asgore had summoned you--that any of them bothered to even care whether you were alive or dead-_

You stumbled to a stop, shaking your head, as if trying to dislodge the dark tones in your ears.

Undyne, however stepped closer, her head bowed and her voice low.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"came ta see ya and take ya ta Asgore," Sans was the one who answered, "though, ya'll have ta ask him for a su-fish-cient explanation."

Normally, you would have laughed at Sans's pun, but you could barely focus-

- _the pun only made you angrier; all of your suffering, to save his human and his brother, and instead of showing concern or worry, he mocks you._  
 _Oh, but he'll be taught his lesson; they all will. You were still Captain of the Royal Guard and they would all rue the day-_

Regalia touched your shoulder and immediately the voice stilled. It wasn't lost on you how badly your hands were shaking, or how much your knees were trying to drop you onto the floor.

"What-"

Regalia stilled your question with a shake of her head.

"Undyne," Regalia spoke, her eyes focused on said monster, "You don't know me, but right now, I need you to focus on my voice. You're feelings are valid--everyone forgot about you here in Waterfall and for that, you have a right to feel hurt and angry; but think clearly now. YOu know your friends would never leave you like this without-"

"SHUDDAP!"

Undyne's roar made the room shake and you swallowed. You jumped when Sans appeared at your side, his eyes a dark void. Regalia sighed quietly and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"...I'm sorry," She breathed.

As if inspiration struck you with a hammer, you realized just what Regalia meant to do.

"Wait," You nearly fell--your knees almost gave out, even as you tried to move closer to Regalia--but managed to put yourself directly in front of Regalia, "You can't dust her!"

Sans's head shot to the two of you, seemingly frozen; even Undyne's movements slowed.

Regalia raised a brow at you, her eyes studying yours for a moment before she looked at the ceiling in much the same way she had back at the beginning of your journey to Undyne's house, the that hallway in the palace.

"You better be careful, or you'll risk the Catalyst," Regalia said, "Undyne's too far gone, even you know that--I thought you were going to tell the truth about this story?"

Your insides fell through your feet and you felt like you couldn't breathe; story? What did Regalia mean by story?

"Oops, a little too soon to spill that, huh?" Regalia smiled at you sadly, "I'm sorry, honey--its times like this that I really...really wish that I had more power to alter timelines."

A sick feeling was rising in your throat and you thought for sure you were going to throw up--throw up or die. The ground seemed to shake again and you found yourself looking over your shoulder to watch Undyne as her movements moved through the are like they were in slow motion. Sans was already moving to defend you and Regalia from three spears that were already flying toward you both.

The room seemed to spin as you noticed another spear--one that was appearing even as it moved through the air--aimed for Sans's back, where he couldn't see it or hope to defend against it.

"See?" Regalia sighed, "Its Undyne or Sans here, sweets; is that really how you wanna leave this?"

You felt tears falling down your face and without even stopping to consider the strange being in front of you, you bolted. Regalia's eyes widened, and her body lurched forward to try and stop you, but you were already out of reach. Past her fingers, past the spear, and you launched yourself at Sans's back, latching onto him so that you shielded the skeleton, your arms tightly wound around him.

"NO-"

Everything seemed to speed up--you felt the heat of the spear and then...

Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to anyone still reading; Victer's a force to be reckoned with, and he's gaining more and more power over the timeline--but he can't quite see what I write, not yet anyway. Stay safe, readers, or it'll be you he visits next.


	15. Transistion

The first thing you felt, was the sensation that you had no real idea which way was up and which way was down. Despite feeling something solid beneath your feet, you felt as if every direction was up and down at the same time. Like some sort of Escher's staircase, only....

There were no staircases. There wasn't anything resembling a staircase, because there wasn't anything to see. You couldn't tell if it was too dark, or too bright--but your eyes hurt either way.

Is this what it felt like to die?

"Not quite."

The familiar voice sent a rush of signals to your brain and it was only then that you realized the reason you had no sense of direction or vision was because there was nothing. Nothing was giving you information to send to your brain, you were...

You were in a void.

"R...Regalia?" Your voice sounded strange to your ears and you realized you weren't sure you actually could hear yourself. Were you speaking in your mind? Did you mouth even move?

You felt your breathing start to pick up--were you even breathing??--and panic started to tear into your soul, your mind wrestling your calm until the final shreds of it were destroyed.

"Regalia! Sans?! Where am I?" You forced your body to move, focused on the movements, on anything; the rational parts of your brain were starting to rip each other at the seems, it was too much--or was it too little?--to deal with.

How long had you been there? Seconds ticked by, but eons spilled over your brain, ripping a scream out of you before you finally felt something.

Someone's hand was on your shoulder.

You spun on your heel, and it was so much of a relief to see Regalia's face, though you weren't sure if what you were seeing was quite real yet. Her outline was somewhat solid, but her features...they looked transparent, and morphed unnaturally--like you were seeing her face from a reflection off of a lake whose surface was never still.

"Chill out, honey," Regalia smiled warmly, some sympathy in her eyes, "I'm sorry I wasn't here as soon as you realized you were here, but it’s so much harder to manifest myself inside of myself."

You let your eyes wander the expanse of the void, but you had to snap back to Regalia quickly, since the void already started to press into your sanity again.

"I...I don't understand, I...I'm freaking out here," You admitted, and rubbed your hands against your clothes to dry your palms--except that they weren't wet and you weren't entirely sure if you actually touched yourself. You felt your hands touch something--and you felt something touch your body--but in your mind you couldn't correlate the two and it ended up feeling like there was someone or something between your hands and your body. The thought made you shudder.

"Sorry, kiddo," Regalia sighed, "I really wanted to give you a good preparation before I brought you here, but when you jumped in the way of the spear like that, I had to pull you out, or risk losing the timeline."

"Risk losing...?" You blinked slowly, "Why would my dying do something like that?"

Regalia's form had started to solidify, but there were a few noticeable changes that struck you as noteworthy--Regalia's skin was now darker, more brown than tan and her eyes were gold in color; despite this change, she still acted much the same.

Before she could open her mouth to answer your question, however, it finally processed through your mind exactly what she said.

"You pulled me out before the spear hit me?" You suddenly felt yourself starting to tremble, "What about Sans? Is he okay? Regalia, he can't die!"

You reached forward to touch her shoulders and felt a little ill when you realized how cold her body was, and how her body seemed to pulse under your hands, "Regalia, put me back! Put me back, I can't--Sans can't die!"

"Calm down!" Regalia gripped your arms and you were comforted in that she was at least getting warmer, though her body still pulsed with otherworldly power, "We're in the void--we exist outside of the flow of time."

Her words at least calmed you enough for you to take a deep breath, but you could still feel your knees shaking.

"I...I don't understand-"

"I know, but you need to calm down--I know it isn't easy here in the void, but if you haven't noticed, you're on the verge of breaking apart--mentally, that is."

Regalia's words made you stutter to a stop and you finally felt the built up anxiety and panic that had settled around you like sleeping predators. She was right; you had to get some kind of grip, or...

You forced yourself to take a deep breath, then another. It was easier when you refused to let your mind question if it was really air you were breathing. It was a small process, but finally you felt the sickly feeling of your adrenaline crashing and it was all you could do to keep yourself from collapsing against Regalia or the floor.

"There you go," She praised, "Don't worry; we won't stay here too long, but I have to prepare you to meet someone."

"Who?" You focused on her again, but it was getting harder to stand, "The Catalyst?"

Regalia blinked before giggles began to pour from her mouth; the sound was childish and started to reflect physically in Regalia as you noticed her horns begin to appear shorter and less developed, and her features began to shift into a younger form in front of your very eyes. The effect was over almost as soon as it began and a much more solid Regalia was answering you when she finally stopped laughing.

"Geez, I guess I never explicitly said it, but c'mon honey," Regalia shook her head, "The Catalyst of your timeline is you."

You froze and stared at her with confusion.

"You mean...I'm responsible for everything?" You couldn't wrap your head around it, but before you could work yourself up, Regalia was already answering.

"No, no, now try to keep up with this one," Regalia waved a finger in your face in an attempt to get your focus and it worked after a fashion.

"Most every timeline starts with the Origin Catalyst," She went over quickly, "Then, as things changed and major decisions were made, more and more timelines split up; some needed an outside source to get started, but we'll touch on that later. But its not unusual for the Catalyst of a timeline to change from time to time--sometimes changing rapidly over the course of a short time, and sometimes not changing for many, many years."

"But, I thought having two Catalysts was bad?" You swallowed.

"Right; two Catalysts is an unnatrual and disasterous event," Regalia explained, "But the force of the Catalyst can change from person to person to item, to event, to person and so-on forever--that's how new timelines are split and changed naturally."

She paused to make sure you were following before explaining, "Take your own timeline for an example; the fate of monsters was decided by Frisk--who was a major Catalyst. But, as soon as monsters were above grown, the Catalyst switched to none other than Victor Masters himself, who--through dark intentions and influence--changed the fate of Monsters and turned them into slaves. After his influence, the Catalyst came again--but this time to a woman who decided in her heart what was right and that she would follow her heart and her adoptive child into the whole mess."

"But...but how could I..."

"Some of the greatest changes in these timelines come from what many would consider the smallest source," Regalia gently stroked your cheek and you swallowed again, "And you had some help getting started, anyway."

"I...I did?" You wracked your brain to try and figure out just what she meant, but you didn't have to wonder long.

"Listen, what you're about to see and hear isn't exactly kosher for you to know, but its the only way you'll be able to have a fighting chance against someone like Victer," Regalia was already lifting her hand and making a swirling motion with her fingers, making something bright blue appear beside you both, "Remember that most anyone who would find this out would probably go crazy, or worse; so try and keep it to yourself, yeah?"

"Wait, what about me?" You leaned away from the blue swirling mass that was getting bigger to your right.

"You'll have an advantage, but just...don't think about it too hard, ok?"

"What does that me-"

"Sorry, we're out of time," Regalia closed her hand into a fist and the blue mass became like a window.

Through it, you could see the blurry outline of many things--most mundane, like bookshelves, a couch and loveseat and an open area that lead to a small kitchen, but your eyes focused in on something in particular.

Sitting on the couch--whose back was facing you--was the unidentifiable head of a woman who looked very similarly to how Regalia looked when she first appeared at the entrance to the Underground in your own timeline. Her hair looked browner and grown out, with the purple fading more to brown than Regalia’s, but this person didn't have Regalia's horns, or presence.

"Who-"

"No time," Regalia seemed to be losing some patience, "We really are out of time--just remember, we both want what's best for you and your timeline okay?"

"Wait-"

But Regalia put her hand on the small of your back and with unnatural strength shoved you through the 'window' and you knew nothing more for a little while.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


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